


Now or Never

by crittab



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: F/M, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:29:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 38,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24726763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crittab/pseuds/crittab
Summary: Luke learns he has a daughter that he never knew. Lorelai has her own big news to share. How will the couple face these life changing events together, as a team? A reimagining of Gilmore Girls season 6. Story is complete.
Relationships: Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore
Comments: 6
Kudos: 68





	1. Revelations

**Disclaimer:** I don’t own Gilmore Girls.

 **Author’s Note:** It’s been a long time since I’ve written any kind of fanfiction, but re-watching Gilmore Girls during quarantine reignited my love for this show.

I wasn’t thrilled with the way the April thing was handled in season six, but I do like the basis of the story. I figured I would give it my own spin. For the purposes of this story, this is all starting in January of 2006 rather than before Christmas, and I’m setting my own timeline from there.

All that said, please enjoy, and if you’re so inclined, throw me some comments and tell me how you feel about the story. I hope you like my return to the fandom!

* * *

**Chapter 1 of 9: Revelations**

Luke would never understand why the town refused to take down Christmas decorations until nearly two weeks after the holiday; but there they were, finally dismantling the 20-foot inflatable snowman and the twee Winter Wonderland that had been clogging up the square since the day after Thanksgiving. On January 3rd.

Stars Hollow was nothing if not festive.

But today, in the midst of yet another chaotic lunch rush, he didn’t have time to worry about the nuttiness happening just outside his door. He had orders to take, people to serve, cobb salads to make without the cobb. He was busy.

He was vaguely aware the bells over his door jingling as he called an order to Caesar in the kitchen while making his way back around the counter to refill coffees.

He saw the pink monstrosity on her head before he consciously became aware of the kid somewhere beneath it. She was asking for him.

The next few minutes of his life were as confusing as they were troubling. Somehow, within the course of three minutes, this little girl had managed to talk about science fairs, spaghetti, Samuel Polaski, DNA testing, her search for her father, and she’d been able to pull out more than a few strands of his hair.

Then she was gone as quickly as she had arrived.

Luke blinked after her, trying to catch up to the tornado that had just torn through his diner.

She was looking for her father? And he was somehow on the shortlist?

He didn’t understand how this was possible. He puzzled over it for a few moments, standing there in the middle of his diner looking stunned, before a voice shouted in the distance, “Can I get some coffee over here?” Luke shook his head and forced himself to get back to work.

He didn’t know what to make of all that had just transpired, but he was pretty sure nothing would come of it. There was no way he had fathered a child and not known about it, right? Right.

Sure. Right.

**XXXX**

More than a week passed and Luke did his best to push his encounter with the helmet girl from his mind. Right now, he just wanted to be exactly where he was – here, in Lorelai’s bed. Their bed. And not the one left to him by his grandmother. A new bed, chosen by both of them to be theirs. The only two people who had ever slept in it.

It was romantic, in a sappy “grow old together, buy matching track suits” kind of way. He figured Lorelai must have felt the same because she had spent a good portion of the night keeping him up with her mouth, hands and body.

Not that he was complaining.

He wanted to focus on these fleeting moments with his fiancée, where it was just the two of them in their room, utter silence surrounding them as they snuggled deeper into the comforter and each other, willing the first rays of morning light to hold off for just a while longer.

Until suddenly, Lorelai was out of the bed, racing for the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Luke pulled himself out of bed and padded to the door. He heard some truly gruesome noises coming from inside.

He knocked lightly on the door. “You okay in there?”

“Ugh,” he heard her say from inside.

He heard the toilet flush and the tap come on. A moment later the door opened and revealed Lorelai, looking very green.

“You okay?” he asked again, rubbing his hands up and down her arms in a way that he hoped was soothing. She grimaced and walked back to the bed, dropping down onto it.

“I don’t feel well,” she whined, holding her tummy, curling in on herself.

“Yeah, I can see that.” He pulled the covers back over her. “Can I get you anything? Tea? Soup?” She shuddered underneath the covers.

“No. No food,” she said insistently.

“Okay, well, you stay here. I’ll call Sookie and let her know you won’t be in today,” he offered. She groaned and buried her head into the pillow nodding her assent.

 _Great_ , Luke thought to himself. Either she had the flu, and he was probably going to catch it, or the seafood at the restaurant they had gone to the night before was bad, in which case it was coming for him whether he liked it or not.

He grumbled to himself as he picked up the phone and dialed Sookie’s number. Things were weird enough already without puke being added to the mix. He didn’t deal well with puke.

As he listened to the ring tone, he glanced down at the table calendar that Lorelai kept next to the phone in the front hallway. It was January 15th – the date of Helmet Girl’s science fair.

He tried to push that information from his mind when Sookie picked up the phone. He relayed the information to her about Lorelai’s illness before hanging up and heading back upstairs to get ready for work.

**XXXX**

Just as predictable as the daily lunch rush in the diner, was the afternoon lull. Luke stood behind the counter, glancing around his empty establishment. With no more tables to clean and fresh coffee brewing, he let his mind wander back to the giant question mark hanging over his head like an anvil ready to be dropped.

He really didn’t know what to make of all of this stuff with the kid. He didn’t really believe it was possible that he could be her father, but he also couldn’t just pretend that this wasn’t happening, that she’d never shown up, that she’d never pulled his hair out of his head.

He was startled from his thoughts by the diner phone ringing behind him.

“Luke’s,” he answered gruffly.

 _“Hey, it’s me,”_ he heard Lorelai’s voice on the other end.

“Hey, how are you feeling?”

_“Better. Much better, actually. I think I’m gonna go into the Inn for a few hours.”_

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” he questioned, grimacing. “You were pretty sick this morning.”

 _“I was. But I think it’ll do me good to get out of the house.”_ Luke nodded to himself.

“You’ll go home if you start to feel bad again?” he prompted.

 _“Yes, Mom,”_ she teased.

“Okay, take it easy. I’ll be home early to make dinner,” he promised.

They said their goodbyes and Luke hung up the phone, looking back over his still-empty diner. He glanced at his watch. It was two o-clock.

He felt that nagging urge in his gut, the one that reminded him when he was late for something, and bothered him when he knew he was out of line.

That damn gut. It wasn’t always his friend.

With a deep breath, decision made, he grabbed his keys.

“Caesar, I gotta go run some errands,” he called back to the kitchen. Hearing Caesar’s acknowledgement, he headed out the back door to his truck, and off toward Woodbridge.

**XXXX**

He didn’t know what he had been expecting when he got to the science fair. He didn’t even really know what he had wanted to happen. But, regardless of what he thought or what he wanted, he got his answer.

There she had been. She looked so tiny, so innocent sitting on the stool reading her book. Nothing about her looked particularly scary or intimidating, but nevertheless, Luke felt completely out of his depth.

The whole exchange had been awkward and uncomfortable. He felt unsteady, and really didn’t know what to do when he finally left. He drove around for a few hours, going nowhere in particular, just trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened. His cell phone rang a few times, but he let it go to voicemail. He wasn’t ready to talk. He couldn’t fathom what he would say.

He thought back to Lorelai. He was already feeling guilty that he hadn’t clued her in when he first met April the week before. They had just promised each other that they wouldn’t keep secrets anymore. At the time, it hadn’t occurred to him that he would be the one with a secret worth keeping.

It was nearly seven when Luke finally killed the engine in his truck after pulling up behind Lorelai’s jeep in the driveway. He gripped the keys tightly, reveling in the twinge as they pushed into his palm, grounding him.

It was now or never. He needed to tell her what was going on. He needed her to be in this with him, because he was so lost.

With a steadying breath, he got out of the truck and took long, purposeful strides toward the house.

Lorelai looked up as she heard the door open. She got up from the couch and leaned against the arch between the living room and entryway, watching him as he toed off his shoes and hung his jacket and scarf on the coat rack.

“I’ve been calling you,” Lorelai said, not angrily. Luke nodded.

“Yeah, I saw. Sorry, I was in the middle of something.” He took a beat. “Can we talk?”

“Sure,” she said, leading them into the room. “Actually there’s something I need to talk to you about too.”

“Can I go first?” he questioned, not wanting to lose his nerve.

“Okay,” she said, taking note of the tension that seemed to radiate from his body. “Is everything alright?”

He gestured to the couch. “Maybe you should sit down.” She eyed him, concerned.

“This is a sit-down conversation?” she questioned as she sat. Ignoring her question, he began to pace the floor in front of her. “Luke, you’re making me nervous.”

He stopped and took a deep breath and turned to face her.

“I have a kid,” he let the words fall from his lips unceremoniously. Lorelai blinked up at him, wide-eyed.

“You what?”

“I have a kid,” he repeated.

“I--I don’t understand,” she said, sitting back on the couch, stunned.

“Last week, this kid, this girl came into the diner, wearing this ridiculous contraption, spouting off about some science fair. I could barely keep up. And then she’s saying all this stuff about how she’s trying to find out who her father is, and she’s going to do a DNA test, and it’ll win first prize because it’s got ‘human drama’. And then she rips out some of my hair, and she’s gone,” he said in a rush.

Lorelai continued to listen, mouth agape, eyes wide.

“And so today I went to the science fair in the gym of Martin Van Buren Middle School – that’s where I was when you were trying to call me – and there she was, with her project, and my picture with a giant red circle around it. And I talked to her and she said, it was me. I’m her father. I’m the daddy,” he finished, seemingly equal parts exhausted and exhilarated. Lorelai shook her head, as if to make sense of everything.

“You know this is real?” she asked. “You know this because some kid’s science fair project said so?”

“She had her uncle oversee the test, you see he does this for a living,” he confirmed, settling in for a rant. “I mean, can you imagine doing that for a job? Are there really that many people running around who don’t know who their fathers are that he would be able sustain that kind of business?”

“Clearly you haven’t seen Maury lately,” Lorelai chimed in. Luke stopped and looked at her, confused.

“What?”

“Never mind,” she said quickly. “So this is real? This is legit? You have a daughter?”

“I have a daughter,” he confirmed. She sank back in the couch as she processed.

“How old is she? Do you know who her mother is?”

“She’s twelve. Her mom is Anna Nardini, she and I dated back before I met you.”

“Didn’t stick, huh?” she questioned lamely. He huffed a rueful laugh and shook his head.

“It was never that serious. We dated for a few months. I was in the process of opening the diner so I didn’t really have that much time for her. She just stopped calling and after a while I stopped expecting her to.”

“Have you talked to her since…”

“No,” he said quickly. “I didn’t even know who to talk to when April first came into the diner last week – that’s her name, by the way, April.”

“So you were kind of a slut back then, huh?” she teased lightly to cut the tension.

“I figured it was probably her, I just needed confirmation,” he clarified.

“How could she not tell you?” Lorelai questioned, frustration evident in her tone. Luke’s expression soured.

“I don’t know. I guess I need to find out.” Lorelai’s expression softened as she took in his stance, hands on his hips, jaw clenching and unclenching, shoulders taught. She pulled herself off the couch and made her way to his side.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked. He took a deep breath and let it out, letting his tense shoulders relax.

“I don’t know. This is a lot to take in.”

“Why didn’t you tell me last week when she came into the diner?”

“I just needed to process – you know I can be a little slow like that.” She nodded her understanding. “And, you know, I needed to know for sure. I didn’t want to lay this on you unless it was real. You have enough going on in your own life, with Rory and everything.”

“You could have told me then. I could have helped you process,” she offered. He nodded.

“I know. I should have. No secrets, right?” He observed her face to try and gauge her emotions. She offered a small, understanding smile.

“I know now,” she reassured him.

“Are you okay? I mean… are we okay?” he asked tentatively.

“Luke. I’m fine. We’re fine. I just want to make sure _you’re_ fine.”

Luke reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze. “I will be. I just need to figure out what to do now.”

He took one more breath, finding comfort in the softness of her eyes and the grip of her hand.

“So,” he pivoted. “You said you had something to tell me?” Lorelai nodded, as if remembering suddenly.

“Right, I did.” She gestured for the couch. “Maybe you should sit down.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she dragged the word out. He looked at her skeptically, but followed her instructions and settled onto the couch. She followed him down, both facing each other. She took his hands in hers, squared her shoulders, and caught his eye. “Luke, I’m pregnant.” His eyes shot wide open.

“You’re… pregnant?” he asked, stumbling over his words. She nodded. “Are you sure?”

“Unless the six different tests I took were all wrong…”

“But we use protection,” he argued lamely.

“I mean, nothing is 100% effective,” Lorelai explained. Luke stared off into space somewhere over her shoulder.

“You’re pregnant? Pregnant,” he repeated, no longer questioning.

“Yes.” She watched him for a moment as this new information rolled around in his head. “Luke,” she prodded.

“I’m here,” he assured her. He started nodding his head slightly as he finally brought his eyes back to her. “That’s… I mean. Are you…” he took a moment and squeezed both of her hands in his. “Are you happy?”

Lorelai let go of the breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding, a small smile playing on her lips.

“I think so,” she affirmed, nervously. “I mean, obviously it’s not what we planned, getting pregnant so soon, but…” Luke finally caught up with her, catching her off guard with a kiss. He pulled away slowly, offering her a small smile.

“I think so too,” he told her, watching as she sighed in relief. He leaned in and kissed her once more, and was about to go in again when the phone rang, interrupting them. Lorelai shot him an apologetic look and got up to answer it.

“Hello?”

 _“Mom?”_ Lorelai perked up.

“Rory!” she greeted, excitedly.

_“I got a job!”_

“Where?”

_“At the Stamford Gazette. It pays less than I’ll spend on gas to get there, but it’s a job! A writing job!”_

“Yes!” Lorelai exclaimed.

_“And I’m going back to Yale. I already called them and talked to my dean, it’s all arranged. I just have to find some place to live and catch up on a few assignments, but who cares? I’ll figure it out!”_

“And this is what you want?” Lorelai asked.

_“Yes!”_

“Are you sure?”

_“Yes!”_

“Oh, Rory!” Lorelai cried. Luke grinned, hearing enough of the conversation to put together what was happening. He stood up from the couch and wrapped his arms around her mid-section as she and Rory continued to talk.

Moments later, she clicked the phone off and turned to him, her eyes alight.

“She’s back!” she exclaimed. “Rory’s back! We can set a date. We can finally get married, because Rory’s back!” Luke laughed as she jumped in his arms.

“I knew she would be,” he said. Lorelai gave him another quick hug before she pulled away.

“Okay, she’s on her way over. We need food and movies and snacks, the works!” Luke nodded.

“Hey, why don’t I get out of your hair, go back to the diner. You girls can have your night,” he offered. Lorelai sobered slightly and eyed him with concern.

“You sure? You don’t have to go,” she offered. He shook his head.

“No, no, I’ll go. This is a celebration. You guys deserve to have a good night and be happy without me dragging the place down.”

“You won’t drag it down,” she pushed. Luke sighed and pulled her in.

“Lorelai, I can’t tell you how excited I am for you and Rory, and for us and this baby. But I still really need to process all of this.” Lorelai let out a small breath, a frown playing on her lips.

“I get it,” she said. “You go. We’ll talk more tomorrow,” she agreed. He leaned down and gave her a small peck on the lips before heading to the foyer to put on his coat and shoes. Lorelai stepped into the entryway to see him off.

“Oh, by the way,” he ventured, his hand on the doorknob. “Could you maybe not tell Rory about this April thing right away? I want to figure out what to do about it before we start spreading it around.”

“I can do that. Do you mind if I tell her about the other thing?” she asked, tentatively, a hand going to her flat midsection. He offered her a small smile.

“Yeah, yeah, of course. She needs to know; you need to tell her.”

“Good, okay. G’night then.” Luke gave her one last look, pulled the door open and headed out to his truck.

Lorelai leaned against the door frame, watching him leave, a mess of emotions swirling within her. It had been a roller coaster of a day. She shook her head, trying to clear it so she could focus on Rory. Everything else could wait, it was time for her daughter to come home.


	2. There's the Rub

**Chapter 2: There’s the Rub**

Lorelai tried not to wince as the doctor spread cool goo on her stomach, pressing the wand against it, and bringing up the image on the monitor next to them. Luke held her hand gently in his, watching with rapt attention as tiny sparks of life appeared before them.

She couldn’t see a thing. The sonogram was just a black hole of nothingness to her, but once the volume was turned up she could hear it, the constant beating of a little heart.

She looked over to Luke and saw raw emotion in his eyes. He was usually so stoic, it was uncharacteristic for him to become verklempt over something as simple as a steady pulse drumming on a monitor.

“There it is,” said Dr. Sharpe. She reached out, pointing at the tiniest of dots. “There’s your baby.”

“That’s incredible,” Luke said softly, almost in a breath. Lorelai smiled and turned her attention back to the doctor.

“It looks like you’re about seven or eight weeks along. That puts your due date in late August, or thereabouts. You’ll get a report from our appointment today with a more specific date,” she explained.

“Is it too soon to know the sex?” Luke asked. Lorelai shook her head.

“Way too soon, Hon.”

“That will have to wait until your second trimester appointment,” Dr. Sharpe explained. “By then we’ll be able to tell.” He nodded his understanding.

“So what do we do now?” he asked. Lorelai smiled at how engaged he was. She hadn’t had that kind of support when she was pregnant with Rory. It almost felt unreal to her to see the father of her baby actually excited about the prospect. Dr. Sharpe began cleaning up Lorelai’s stomach as she explained their next steps.

“Now we’ll send you home with prenatal vitamins, and some literature on what to expect over the next few months and how to make sure you’re doing what’s best for you and your baby. Of course, you can call my office if you have any questions or concerns.”

She continued, “We’ll make an appointment today for a follow-up visit in a few weeks, just to make sure things are progressing normally. Because of your age there is more potential for some complications, but they’re still rare. I just want to keep an eye on things, especially during the first trimester.”

Lorelai pulled her shirt down and sat up as the doctor finished up. She and Luke thanked her for her time and went to the front desk to make their next appointment and collect their paperwork, before heading out the glass doors into the chilly January morning.

“See this is why you don’t have your kids 21 years apart,” Lorelai said as they walked to the truck. “I thought I had it all figured out, and now all of a sudden I’m having a geriatric pregnancy. I’m surprised she didn’t offer me Metamucil.”

“She did not say the word ‘geriatric’,” he responded as they reached the truck. They both got in and he turned on the ignition, then turned the heat up to full blast, taking the sting out of the frigid winter air.

“So?” she asked. “What do you think?”

“I think…” he pondered for a moment. “We need a bigger house,” he finally said. Lorelai did a double-take.

“Luke, we just renovated our house for us to live in.” He put the truck in gear and started out of the parking lot.

“We renovated a two bedroom, two bath home for two people to live in, with occasional visits from Rory. We’re going from a family of three to a family of five,” he explained. Lorelai’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Five?”

“Yeah,” he said casually. “You, me, the baby, Rory, and April.”

“April?” Lorelai questioned. “When did you decide this? Did you talk to Anna already?”

“No, not yet,” he said quickly, sensing her distress. “But I plan to, and when I do I’m going to ask for contact with April. I should get to know her.”

“Of course you should,” Lorelai agreed. “But you’re already planning on buying a new house to make room for a kid who you don’t even have a relationship with yet. Don’t you think you might be getting ahead of yourself?”

“I just know what I want,” Luke pressed, taking the on-ramp for the highway back to Stars Hollow. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I need to be in her life.” He took a sideways glance at Lorelai, who was sitting silently, eyes trained out the front window. “What are you thinking?”

Lorelai sighed.

“I just don’t want you to be disappointed if it doesn’t go your way,” she said softly.

“Why would I be disappointed?”

“You don’t know what Anna has to say about all of this. You don’t know why she didn’t tell you about April, or if she’s even going to let you see her.”

“I need to do this, Lorelai,” he said, his voice low but strained.

“I know. I know you do, and I fully support that. Just… be careful, okay?” She took a beat. “I saw you in there, Luke. I saw how you looked at that sonogram. You want this so much; I just don’t want you to get hurt.” Luke sighed. He eyed her briefly before reaching over to take her hand in his.

“I appreciate your concern,” he said, giving her hand a squeeze. “I promise I’ll try to manage my expectations.” Lorelai nodded.

“Good.”

“We still need a bigger house though,” he came back. Lorelai sighed.

“Yeah, I know.” Her voice was solemn. “I just really love that house.”

“I know you do. So do I,” he agreed. “Maybe there’s something we can do there. An addition?” Lorelai eyed him skeptically.

“You want to do another renovation?”

“Well, you don’t want to leave, and we need two more bedrooms,” Luke reminded her. “Besides, you never got to throw Tom’s crew a goodbye party. Consider this your second chance,” he teased her.

“How much would something like that cost?” she questioned.

“A lot,” he said quickly. “We don’t have the room to go out, so we’d have to go up, add on a third floor. It’ll be expensive.”

“Can we afford that?”

“We’ll have to remortgage,” Luke told her. “But when I move in I’ll start sharing the expenses. I’m sure we can swing it.”

“You’re sure?” she pushed.

“I might have to rent out my apartment, get a little more income to cover it,” he further explained.

“Luke, no, you love that apartment.” He shrugged.

“I love you more,” he said simply. “Besides, I’d rather live in a money pit with you and our kids than alone above a diner.”

“Our kids,” she repeated softly. They shared a small smile. That had a nice ring to it. 

**XXXX**

Lorelai walked through the shopping district of New Haven, flanked on either side by Rory and Sookie. It had been a few weeks since Rory had returned, and after giving her sufficient time to get settled back at school and into classes, she decided it was finally time to get the girls together and start planning her wedding to Luke.

She knew Luke had been planning to visit Anna that day. He had taken a few weeks to consider his options and come up with a game plan. Lorelai had been as helpful throughout the process as she could be, serving as a sounding board and giving advice when she could.

It hadn’t been easy, getting to this point. Although Luke knew he wanted to have April in his life, he was still so angry with Anna. There had been nights when he came home and launched directly into a tirade about what she’d done. Lorelai was happy to let him do it – she was thinking everything he was saying. They were very much on the same page that it was wrong – no, not just wrong – it was _unconscionable_ to keep something like this a secret.

But over the past week or so, Lorelai had watched as Luke began to come to terms with the whole situation. He mellowed and started talking to her about what he should do when he finally spoke to her. They agreed that he should offer to start paying child support, and that it would be important for him to maintain a positive relationship with Anna to make things as easy and comfortable as possible for April. They agreed that they wanted to have April over as much as possible, and properly integrate her into their lives. They had even reached out to Tom about adding on to their house to make room for two more bedrooms, one for April, and one for their baby, along with a new bathroom and a storage space.

All in all, Lorelai and Luke felt good about where they were, and where they were going.

But today, as Luke made his way out to meet with Anna, Lorelai knew she couldn’t just sit at home. So, she had called Rory and Sookie and asked them to come out with her to start gathering ideas for the wedding.

“Oh, look at that!” Sookie said, pointing in the window of a flower shop.

“Eyes on the prize,” Lorelai said, pulling her away from the storefront. “We’re looking for the stationary store.”

“Yeah, we have to stay focused,” Rory agreed, before peering into another shop window. “Oh, look at all the pretty dresses!” she exclaimed.

“Okay, it’s official, neither of you gets to be on my zombie apocalypse team – we’d be dead on day one.”

“Come on,” Rory urged. “Let’s go inside!”

“Yes!” Sookie cried, excitedly co-signing the younger woman’s suggestion.

“Guys, I don’t even know what kind of dress I’m looking for. Besides, I’m pregnant. God knows what size I’ll be when we get married,” she argued.

“You can still try some on. It’ll be fun!” Sookie pushed. She and Rory each grabbed one of Lorelai’s arms and began pulling her in the direction of the store.

“But…”

“No buts! Come on, Mom, we’re just going to look around, you don’t have to buy anything today.”

“Famous last words,” Lorelai sulked as the door bells clanged overhead. She was immediately abandoned in the store as Rory and Sookie ran for the racks of tulle and taffeta.

“Okay, I would pay you to try this on,” Sookie laughed, pulling an ivory travesty from the rack.

“Yikes,” Rory said, eyeing it up and down.

Lorelai rolled her eyes at the pair good naturedly and scanned the storefront. She didn’t see any salespeople on the floor, which was probably a good thing since the threesome were probably going to mock every single dress in the place.

As she looked around, something caught her eye. It was a soft blush colour with appliqué flowers on the bodice and an empire waist. She stepped toward the mannequin and reached out to brush her fingers over the intricate beading.

It was beautiful. Like, really, truly beautiful.

“Ooh, that’s pretty,” Sookie said, making her way to Lorelai’s side.

“Not pretty,” Rory said in awe. “Perfect.”

“Yeah, perfect,” Lorelai agreed, breathlessly. She looked around again, “I think I’m gonna try it on. Does anybody work here?”

“I’ll go find someone,” Rory offered, heading deeper into the store while Lorelai and Sookie continued to ogle the beautiful garment.

**XXXX**

Luke pulled up outside the old red house. It had been three days since the appointment with Lorelai’s obstetrician, and in that time he had finally worked up the courage to reach out to Anna and April. He had tried to call the night before, but had gotten their answering machine and quickly hung up the phone.

Truth be told, he didn’t know exactly what to say or how he was going to react to seeing Anna again. Their relationship had been fine – pleasant. They’d always had fun together. But that was before he knew that she was capable of keeping something so monumental from him.

He could feel anger simmering below the surface, but he knew he couldn’t go in there half cocked. He needed to be calm. He needed to project an air of understanding, so she would know that he came in peace. And he did, truly, even though he was so deeply hurt. He didn’t want to have an antagonistic relationship with the mother of his child, and he was pretty sure she wouldn’t let him within 50 feet of April if he didn’t show up with a good attitude.

That was fair, he supposed. If the situations were reversed, he wouldn’t want to send his kid off with someone holding a grudge.

He took a deep steadying breath as he approached the door. He raised his hand to knock and dropped it back down to his side a few times before summoning the courage to give the solid wood door a few quick raps.

He heard some shuffling inside before the door finally creaked open and he saw her for the first time in 13 years.

“Hi Anna,” he greeted. He congratulated himself inwardly on such a good start. She looked up at him with surprise, but recovered quickly.

“Hey stranger,” she said back. She offered a half-smile. “Long time no see.”

“Yeah, long time,” he repeated, suddenly feeling like he was at a loss for words.

“You want to come in?” she offered, opening the door wider for him. He agreed and stepped inside, taking a look around. The place was full of knickknacks and photos and tapestries. It looked homey, if a little frenetic.

They moved deeper into the house, making idle chit chat, feeling each other out. Anna offered him a cup of tea, which he gratefully accepted, if only to give him something to do with his hands.

Finally, they sat down in her living room, and Luke felt he couldn’t avoid the topic any longer.

“How come you didn’t tell me, Anna?” he asked. The look she gave him, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, made his heart hurt.

“Come on, Luke,” she began. “You hate kids.”

“I don’t hate kids,” he countered, defensively.

“We couldn’t go to movies before 10 o’clock just in case kids were there. We would move tables if we were seated next to a family in a restaurant. You refused to walk anywhere near the park or the elementary school. You used to rant for hours on end about _jam hands_.”

“Okay, fine, maybe I did hate kids, but I wouldn’t feel that way about my own,” he pushed. “I had a right to know.” Anna sighed.

“You’re right,” she allowed. “Believe me, there have been times over the years when I wanted to tell you. But it never seemed like the right time, and after a while, I guess it just felt like it was too late.”

“It was a phone call,” he said, allowing the tiniest bit of hurt to crack through in his voice. Anna lowered her eyes to the hot liquid in her teacup. Luke could sense her embarrassment. It made him feel vindicated, if only slightly.

Finally, after a moment, she looked back to him.

“So what now?” she asked. “You know. You’re here. That must mean something.”

“It does,” he confirmed. He set his teacup down on the table and shifted toward her in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped. “I want to be in April’s life,” he finally said.

“And what, exactly, would that entail?” she questioned, her skepticism evident.

“I want to spend time with her,” he said plainly. “She can come visit me, and I’ll visit her, and we’ll get to know each other. And I want to start paying for stuff. Child support going forward, and compensation for the past 12 years.”

“Luke, April and I are comfortable. We want for nothing and we never have.”

“That doesn't matter. This is my responsibility,” he said firmly. She softened a little.

“Okay, if you want to chip in, then chip in,” she allowed. “But contact, I just don’t know, Luke…”

“She came to me, Anna,” he interrupted before she could finish. “And I know that she was doing it for the science fair, but I can’t believe that’s the only reason. She wants to know who her father is, and I want to know her.” Anna took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She took in Luke’s demeanor – determined, if a little nervous, and finally relented.

“Do you know anything about grubs?” she finally asked. Luke eyed her, confusedly.

“What?”

“That’s where she is right now. She’s tracking a grub migration. I stopped listening after the word ‘grub’, but maybe that’s something you two could talk about next time you see each other,” she suggested, gamely. Luke let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, laughing softly.

“I’ll read up on it,” he promised. Anna offered a small smile.

“I’m sure she would appreciate that.” Luke nodded.

“So then,” he said, pulling himself up from the chair. “I guess I’ll get going and I’ll call later to make plans with April, if that’s okay.” Anna stood and began leading him to the door.

“That would be okay,” she allowed. “She has swim practice after dinner but she should be home by eight if you wanted to call her.”

“Sounds good.”

As they reached the door, Anna stopped him.

“Hey Luke?”

“Yeah?”

“You happy?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m happy,” he told her. He took a beat. “Actually, I’m engaged.” Anna looked at him, surprised.

“Wow,” she said softly. “I didn’t think I’d see the day.” He laughed amiably.

“Yeah, well, I guess there really is someone for everyone,” he joked. He pulled the door open and turned back to her briefly. “Talk to you soon.”

“Yeah, talk soon,” she said. With that, he stepped outside and closed the door behind him. He returned to his truck, a small smile playing on his lips. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, replaced by a hopeful fluttering in his stomach.

He suddenly felt like it was all coming together. The confusion from before was melting into something different, something real and defined. He was a father. He was going to be a _husband and father._

 _Yeah,_ he thought to himself as he put the truck into gear. _I didn’t think I’d see the day, either._

**XXXX**

Luke busied himself at the diner, refilling coffees and bussing tables. He had returned to work after meeting with Anna that afternoon, feeling lighter and more focused than he had since that fateful day when April first bounced into his diner and into his life.

He had tried to call Lorelai earlier to talk about his meeting with Anna, but her phone had gone directly to voicemail. He didn’t bother calling back, figuring he would fill her in on all of the details when they saw each other that night.

It was around 6:30 when she swept into the diner, carrying the world’s largest box, talking a mile a minute.

“Well, we're done,” Lorelai greeted, dropping the box on the counter as Luke made his way back around to stand across from her.

“We're done with what?”

“With the wedding preparations.”

“What?”

“I just dropped off a deposit check to the caterer, and I brought you some duck-sausage rolls.” She handed him the takeaway container she had perched atop the large box.

“I don't understand. How did this happen?” he asked, in awe.

“Well, you were going to see Anna today and I couldn’t sit still at home, so I called Rory and Sookie to start getting ideas for the wedding. We were just going to check out these invitations at a store in New Haven, and right next door, there was this little bridal shop, and we thought, ‘Oh, we'll just go in, look around, you know no big deal’, you know, just girl fun, right? And I went in, and I turned around, and there it was. The perfect dress,” Lorelai said in an excited rush.

“The...” Luke attempted.

“The bodice is this blush-coloured silk tulle, and it has all these little crystal beads on it, and the skirt is a blush silk tulle with a blush silk/satin lining, and the back goes into a train. And it has an empire waist and a little play in the skirt, so I should be able to alter it to fit around this thing when we’re closer to the date,” she said, patting to her still-flat stomach.

She continued, “Anyway, I tried it on, and it just looked perfect on me, and it was on sale, so I bought it. And from the minute I bought the dress, everything else fell into place.”

“What does that mean?” Luke asked, trying to catch up.

“Well, the dress is strapless, so, hello, summer wedding. And I know I’ll be the size of a whale by then, but who cares if it looks like we’re having a shotgun wedding? Anyway, summer means daisies, so flower choice done. And we went into the stationery store, and there was the perfect daisy invitations, which I know sounds a little girly, but, seriously, there are no macho wedding invitations, so please just give me this one, okay?”

“O--kay.”

“Okay, so I bought the invitations, the place is running a special. They print the invites and mail them for you and handle the RSVP list, so that's done. Then we go to get some coffee, and in the window of the coffee shop, there is a picture of a beautiful rose-covered church. And I thought, ‘Gee, that's pretty. I wonder where that is’. And do you know where it is?”

“No.”

“Right around the corner from the coffee shop! So we went in and talked to Pastor Todd.”

“Pastor Todd?”

“And the church is perfect. And out back, there's a separate function hall with these floor-to-ceiling windows and doors that open out. And behind the hall is this old carousel.”

“A carousel?”

“From 1850. And it should be fully restored and working by June 3rd, which, by the way, is the date of our wedding.”

“June 3rd?”

“Yes. I rented the church. And he was running a special, so he gave me the hall for half price, and he threw in the use of the carousel for nothing. And his sister runs a catering company, and Sookie blessed it, and so basically that's it, we're done!”

“Huh!” Luke said, unable to formulate other words.

“It was so weird how this happened, you know. It's like the dress was a sign or something.”

“There are no signs,” he argued gently. At that moment, Lorelai looked out the window, gasping in delight.

“Oh, my god! It started snowing. It started snowing right as I started talking about signs! That, my friend, is a sign,” she said, dancing a little where she stood. Luke let out a small laugh and rounded the counter to stand next to her.

“That is not a sign. That is weather,” he teased.

“No, this is more than weather. This is fate,” she insisted. Luke moved in a little closer, smiling.

“June 3rd, huh?”

“June 3rd,” Lorelai confirmed.

“That's soon.”

“I know.”

“It's less than five months away.”

“I know. Is that okay?” she asked, finally beginning to come down from her shopping high. Luke nodded.

“It’s okay,” he allowed. “It’s good.” She smiled brightly at him.

“I can’t believe we have a date.” Luke laughed.

“It’s about time.” He leaned in then and kissed her gently. When he pulled away she sat for a moment in her bliss before something clicked in her head and she gasp.

“Oh my god, I’m awful,” she exclaimed.

“What?” Luke’s brow furrowed.

“I went on and on about the wedding and I didn’t even ask you about how it went today with Anna. I’m awful. I suck.” Luke shook his head, letting his hands come to her arms to calm her.

“You’re not awful, you’re excited. That’s allowed,” he assured her.

“Well?” she asked. “How did it go?”

“Oh, good. Great, actually,” he said. “I’m gonna call April tonight and make plans to get together.” Lorelai’s smile came back in full force.

“Oh Luke, that’s amazing,” she said affectionately.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I think it’s going to be really good.” They shared another smile before Lorelai glanced back outside, seeing the snow begin to blanket the streets.

“Okay, I better get home before the snow gets any worse. You’ll fill me in on all of the details tonight?” He nodded his agreement, and she picked up the giant garment box and headed for the door, turning back to Luke before pulling it open. “Oh, and I picked out your tuxedo. You can stop by the place anytime you want, and they were running a special, so the alterations are free!”

Luke laughed as she exited the diner, heading for home. His head was buzzing with everything that had happened that day. A part of him felt like he should be overwhelmed with it all – a daughter, a wedding in five months, a renovation, a baby on the way… but he wasn’t. He felt perfectly content.

With one last look out the window at his fiancée’s retreating form, he returned to the counter and grabbed his cloth, ready to clear another table.

**XXXX**

It had been a few days since Luke had met with Anna. Since then, he had been able to meet up with April at a playground in Woodbridge, and, although he thought that was a perfectly natural place to hang out with a kid, he learned that _his kid_ was not just any kid. April had no interest in the park, beyond people watching.

He supposed he could relate to her on that front. He wasn’t a big fan of the park either.

But the outing hadn’t been a total bust. He and April got along well and both were eager to spend more time together. They decided they would get together again the next afternoon, this time at the diner. April thought diners were “fascinating”, which Luke found bizarre, but he was willing to do whatever she wanted as long as he got to be with her.

So, there he was on a Saturday afternoon in February, going about his usual business while his daughter refilled salt and pepper shakers in the corner of his diner.

He was surprised when the bells jingled over the door and Lorelai walked in. They had talked the night before about April coming to the diner, and he had invited her to come by to meet her, but she had expected to be tending to a wedding at the Dragonfly all day long.

“You’re here!” Luke greeted her with a smile, coming around the counter to meet her.

“Yeah, the ceremony is underway so I figured I could step out for a few minutes,” she explained.

“Well, I’m glad you came,” he said warmly. He pointed her in the direction of the dark-haired girl dutifully refilling salt and pepper shakers in the corner.

“Is that her?” Lorelai asked, her voice low.

“In all her glory,” he confirmed.

“What is she doing?”

“She, uh, wanted a job,” he awkwardly explained. Lorelai looked at him, amused.

“So you made her refill salt shakers?” Luke shrugged, lamely.

“I didn’t know what else to do,” he explained. Lorelai gave him a sympathetic smile and gestured toward the girl. “Can I?” she asked him, before making contact.

“Yeah, definitely,” he allowed. He moved ahead of her, catching his daughter’s attention.

“Hey, uh, April, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” he said. April looked up from her task.

“Hi, I’m Lorelai,” Lorelai greeted warmly. “Looks like this guy’s keeping you busy,” she said, elbowing Luke’s arm gently.

“Oh, yeah, I’m trying to work out the best rice-to-salt ratio to prevent clumping,” she said, poking her glasses up a little higher on the nose. “Nice to meet you, Lorelai. I’m April.”

“I think I mentioned to you that I was engaged, right?” Luke asked. April nodded. “Right, well, Lorelai is my fiancée. I thought you’d want to meet each other.”

“Oh yeah,” April said. “He told me all about you. I love that you adopted a neurotic dog,” April said.

“Well, like owner, like canine,” she laughed. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

“Do you want to help me with the salt?” April asked, gesturing to the shakers on the table. “I’ve been working with white rice, but I was thinking of subbing in brown rice as a control sample to see which one works better.”

Luke and Lorelai exchanged an amused glance. He had mentioned that April was a bit of a bookworm. Lorelai could now posit that he was not exaggerating.

“I’d love to help, but I only have a few minutes before I have to get back to work. Rain check?” she offered.

“Sounds good. You work at the Inn, right?”

“Wow, you sure do your homework,” Lorelai said.

“I just try to remember the details. I figure if it works in science, it’ll work in life, right?” Lorelai laughed.

“Right. Well, I look forward to seeing you again soon, April. Don’t let this guy work you too hard, okay?” she said.

“Oh, I don’t think he can. I’m _very_ interested to learn about how this place runs.”

Lorelai and April said their goodbyes, and she and Luke headed for the door. Once they had stepped outside, Lorelai turned to him, eyes wide.

“Wow!” she exclaimed. Luke laughed.

“Yeah!”

“She’s everything you said she was. And more!”

“I know, it’s kind of crazy, right? She’s so smart. My kid is smart.”

“She sure is, and she looks like you too. She has your nose.”

“Nah, you think?” he asked.

“Oh, most definitely. That nose is all Danes,” she said. She took note of Luke’s easy smile and reached out, resting her palm on his cheek. “I’m really happy for you, Luke.” He leaned into her touch.

“I’m glad you came by,” he said softly. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, careful not to get too into it with his daughter steps away. He pulled away far too soon for Lorelai’s liking. “So I’ll see you tonight?” he asked.

“Yes. I should be able to duck out around 7.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Luke watched Lorelai walk away for a moment before heading back in the diner to think up another task for April.

**XXXX**

The day had gone better than he could have imagined. April was great – she was funny, smart, quick, and so eager to learn about him and his business. It didn’t feel awkward at all in the way he expected it to. She wanted a job to do, she wanted to serve coffee and refill salt shakers. She wanted to watch Caesar put together Monte Cristo sandwiches.

It had been so hard for Luke to wrap his head around the fact that he had this kid, and then all of a sudden she was there, in his diner, being a part of his life. It was surreal.

And then Lorelai had arrived.

Watching them together made him feel something he couldn’t quite describe. It was like he realized for the first time that this was his life now, and despite his concerns about stepping into the role of a father, it felt right and real. Watching his fiancée interact with his daughter seemed like the most natural thing in the world. He couldn’t believe he got to have them both.

It wasn’t long after Lorelai left that Anna came to collect April. They shared brief pleasantries and made plans for their next visit, before heading back home to Woodbridge.

Luke worked for a few more hours before finally making his way upstairs, leaving Caesar to close. He planned to take a quick shower and do a few chores before heading over to Lorelai’s for the night.

He stepped into his apartment just in time to hear the phone ring.

“Hello?” he answered.

_“Luke, hey. It’s Anna.”_

“Oh, Anna, hi,” he greeted amiably.

_“I just wanted to call and talk to you about today. After I picked April up, she told me all about your day together. It sounds like she had a good time.”_

“Oh yeah, we had a great time. Hung out at the diner – that’s what she wanted to do.”

_“Right, I know. She finds diners fascinating.”_

“Yeah,” he said with a small laugh.

_“So Luke, this is a little uncomfortable for me, but I feel like I have to say something.”_

Luke’s brow furrowed. “What’s up?”

 _“Well, I know you told me you’re in a relationship,”_ she broached.

“Yeah, I’m engaged,” he clarified.

_“Right, I know. And I also know that April met her today. Your fiancée.”_

“She did. Lorelai came by the diner.”

 _“Luke, I know that you’re new to this so I’m just going to be really straightforward here. April has never met someone I was dating,”_ she said plainly. _“I make a point of keeping that life separate from her. I just don’t want to upset or confuse her.”_

“Okay,” Luke dragged out, not quite catching her drift.

 _“I would just appreciate if you could follow my lead on this one,”_ she finally said. _“April is getting to know you right now, and that’s great. But, at least for now, I think it should just be you. I don’t want her getting attached to this woman.”_

Luke shook his head. “Anna, Lorelai and I aren’t just dating. We’re getting married.”

_“I understand that, but this is just the way I need it to be, okay?”_

“I don’t understand,” he pushed. “April is in my life, and Lorelai is part of that.”

 _“For now,”_ she shot back.

“What does that mean, ‘for now’?” Luke bit the words back at her.

_“Look, when you and April have spent some more time together and we have a better feel for how this is all going to work, then we’ll revisit it, okay? This is just the way it has to be for a little while.”_

Luke sighed, “Anna…”

 _“I need to be able to trust you, Luke. Or this is not going to work out,”_ she finally said.

“You can trust me,” he argued.

 _“Okay then. We’re on the same page?”_ she asked. Luke sighed.

“I guess so.”

_“Okay. Good. So you’re going to see April next Tuesday after school, right?”_

“Uh, yeah,” he agreed. “That’s the plan.”

_“Okay then. We’ll see you next Tuesday. Goodnight, Luke.”_

“Yeah. Night, Anna.” He heard the click as she hung up, listening to the tone of the dead line for a long moment before finally hanging up the phone and returning it to its cradle.

When Lorelai met April, they had hit it off. She was so excited to be part of this with him. He didn’t know how he was going to break this news to her.

**XXXX**

It was a little after eight when Luke finally arrived home. Lorelai was sitting on the couch reading a bridal magazine when he came in. She began talking the moment he closed the door behind him, as he divested himself of his outerwear.

“Hey, so I know I said daisies for the flowers, but I’m thinking some lilies might have to come into play too. You know, to keep it fresh. And gardenias! Who knew there were so many flowers to choose from? I mean, obviously, there are a lot of flowers, but I guess I just never put much thought into how they would all look together,” she quickly said. She continued on as Luke headed into the kitchen, grabbed a beer from the fridge, and returned to join her on the couch.

“I don’t even know if you can get all of these flowers in June. I guess I’ll have to ask when Sookie and I go to the greenhouse this weekend.”

Luke took a long pull from his bottle.

“Hey, do you think April would want to help out with some of this? It could be a good way for us to get to know each other better.”

“Uh, no, I don’t think so,” Luke said softly. Lorelai turned her attention from the magazine to him, her brow furrowed.

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t think you and April are going to be spending that much time together.” He took another swig from the bottle.

“I don’t understand. I thought we hit it off today,” she frowned. Luke took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He put his beer on the table and turned to face her on the couch.

“I talked to Anna,” he finally said.

“You did?”

“Yes.” He took a moment, trying to put into words the mandate she had laid down, in a way that would be less hurtful to the woman sitting in front of him. “She mentioned being a little concerned about April spending time with people other than me.”

“What does that mean?” Lorelai asked.

“She just doesn’t want me letting you two hang out yet.”

“Luke, we’re getting married. I need to get to know your kid,” she said matter-of-factly. He nodded.

“I know, I know. And I agree with you, but Anna’s pretty stuck on this, and I’m a little concerned that if I don’t play ball the way she wants me to, she might not let me see April,” he explained.

“Did she say that? Did she threaten to keep her away from you?” Lorelai could feel anger roiling in her gut.

“That was the gist. She said I should get to know April myself for a while and then we can re-evaluate in a couple of months,” he said. Lorelai shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest.

“This isn’t right, Luke. Why are you letting her push you around? After all she did, keeping your kid from you, why does she get to dictate how you spend your time with her now? Who she meets?”

“I know,” he agreed. “Trust me, I’m as upset as you are. But I’m just getting to know my daughter, and I really don’t want to rock the boat right now. Can you see where I’m coming from?”

“I guess,” she allowed. “But that doesn’t make it okay.” He sighed and grabbed his beer from the table, taking another long pull.

“I know it’s not okay, but it’s what it is,” he said, his weariness starting to show. Lorelai watched him for a moment as he stared down at his bottle, picking at the peel. His shoulders were slumped, sadness etched on his features. He looked older than he had that afternoon.

“Are you okay?” she asked after a long moment.

“It’s all just too much,” Luke admitted softly.

“What’s too much?”

“All of it. Anna, April, June 3rd. I feel like I can’t get my feet on solid ground here.”

“June 3rd?” Lorelai asked. “What about June 3rd?”

“It’s just so soon,” he insisted. “I have so much going on, and it’s all piling up. It’s all happening so fast.”

“Well, if it's all happening too fast, you know, we can just postpone,” she suggested, hesitantly. Luke’s eyes shot to hers.

“Postpone the wedding?” he asked.

“Yeah, if we need to. June 3rd isn’t set in stone, it just happened to be available so I grabbed it. But if it’s _too much_ …”

“And you would be okay with that?” he asked.

“I don’t want you to go into our wedding all jumbled up. I want you to be ready.” Luke let out a long breath.

“Well, that'll help. Yeah, that'll really help. That'll give me time to resolve this other thing, and everything will be better later on.” She nodded, working hard to hide her disappointment.

“Yeah, of course. Let’s just get through this part, and when we’re ready, we’ll look at another date.”

“I really appreciate how understanding you’re being. About all of it,” he told her. She huffed at that.

“Well, I don’t exactly understand _all of it_ , but I’m trying. I know you need to get to know her, and I don’t want to get in the way.”

“I’m sure it’ll just be for a little while,” he assured her. “Once Anna is more comfortable with April and me, she’ll ease up. She’s just trying to protect her.” Lorelai nodded and pulled herself up from the couch.

“Let’s hope so.” With that, she headed for the kitchen, away from Luke so he couldn’t see the hurt that threatened to spill over at any moment. Luke let her go, still encompassed by his own stress and anxiety. This wasn’t supposed to be this hard.


	3. On a Timeline

**Chapter 3: On a Timeline**

It had been a month and a half since Luke’s conversation with Anna in which she decided that he would only be able to see April if Lorelai kept her distance. Although Lorelai was trying to be understanding, it still bothered her immensely that some other woman felt comfortable dictating part of her relationship, and it bothered her even more that Luke was letting her do it.

But there was nothing she could do. If she tried to butt in, Luke could lose his daughter, and she just couldn’t let that happen. Luke had been seeing April two or three times a week since early February, and she could see just how much he was growing to love her.

It was nice to see this side of Luke, the loving father, especially now that they had a child of their own on the way. Not that she hadn’t seen flashes of it before with Rory, but he was just so determined to make sure that April was happy, and comfortable with him, and settling into his life. Well, most of his life, anyway.

Truth be told, Lorelai had been feeling more and more pushed to the side ever since that night with Anna. Luke had been keeping her updated on his visits with April, and he was always there to make sure she had a good breakfast, and that she took her prenatal vitamins, and that she wasn’t drinking too much coffee, or doing any of the other things that he decided were unhealthy for a pregnant woman to be doing.

But beyond that, beyond the process of growing a baby, his interest in their life together and the wedding they were supposed to be planning had seemed to wane. He was singularly focused on this other part of his life that she wasn’t allowed to be a part of, and it hurt.

Of course, she didn’t feel like she could say anything about it, at least not yet. Not while he was still building his relationship with April. She didn’t want to interject herself where she wasn’t welcome, or make him feel like he was doing something wrong by spending time with his daughter.

It was just that every time he told her he would be seeing April, even though the words were never explicitly spoken, Lorelai felt like she was being banished. Don’t come to the diner between 4 and 8. Don’t call. Don’t text. Don’t write. Don’t even wander through the town square because she might catch a glimpse.

It was wrong. Lorelai felt in her gut that it was wrong, and the more time that passed, the worse she was beginning to feel.

And it didn’t help that the first trimester of her pregnancy was kicking her butt. She couldn’t remember ever being this sick when she was pregnant with Rory. Not to mention the aches and pains, the bloating, and the never-ending heartburn. She felt gross, and tired, and just so _over it._ She was tired of feeling that way. This was supposed to be a happy time, with so many great things on the horizon. She didn’t want to be a sad sack, waiting on the bench for her guy to notice her. She wanted to be enjoying this time. She deserved to enjoy it.

So that morning when Luke mentioned that April would be coming by the diner from 10 to 2, _just in case_ Lorelai was planning to stop by, she decided it was time to stop waiting at home. She called up Sookie and Rory and invited them out for lunch at Weston’s, where they could catch up, gossip, and start talking about all things _baby_.

This would do her good, she thought. At least, it couldn’t hurt.

“Oh my god, I’ve never felt this bloated,” Lorelai griped, as she sat down at the table with her coffee and pie. She rested her hand on the small bump that was now beginning to show. “I feel like I ate my weight in burgers and chili fries.”

“I remember feeling that way when I was pregnant with Davey,” Sookie commiserated. “I thought I was going to explode and all these baby parts were going to come flying out!”

“And my appetite is officially gone,” Rory said, making a face.

“Sorry kid,” Lorelai said. “Maybe one day you, too, can experience the joys of being, as my mother put it, ‘ _with child’_ ,” she said in her best ‘Emily Gilmore’ voice.

“Oh right! So what did Grandma say when you told her the news?” Rory asked. The night before Luke and Lorelai had gone to Friday night dinner with the Gilmores, finally deciding to let them in on all of their big news.

“Oh my god, she was so excited,” Lorelai said with a laugh. “It was like I walked into this bizarro-world where everything is wonderful, and we only eat off the best china, and the water is thrice filtered.”

“Wow, thrice. And here all I’ve ever gotten was a double-filter,” Rory jested.

“Well just wait until it’s your baby. They’ll be ordering out for pure rain water from the Himalayas.”

“But they were excited though? It was a positive experience?” Lorelai offered a genuine smile at that.

“Yeah, they were great. It was kind of strange, actually. I half expected then to send me to my room or try to marry me off, but I guess somewhere between last week and this week, they realized I’m not sixteen anymore.”

“That’s really nice to hear,” Rory said, happily.

“Yeah, it is. And they were even supportive when Luke mentioned that we were renovating the house to add extra bedrooms,” Lorelai continued. “Oh, and get this, they offered to pay for it.”

“For what? The renovation?” Sookie asked, wide-eyed.

“Yes! They said they were already planning to _buy us_ _a house_ as a wedding present…”

“What? A house?!” Rory cut in.

“I know, don’t get me started on that. But when we told them we were already renovating to make room for our family, they insisted on chipping in.”

“And Luke is okay with this?” Rory asked.

“I mean, it’s not his favourite thing in the world, but he’s learned over the years that it’s best to just let the Gilmores do what they want to do. I’m sure he’ll lowball them on the numbers so they don’t actually pay for the whole thing.”

“Save his pride,” Sookie said.

“Exactly. It’s a guy thing,” Lorelai agreed.

“Well, I think it’s great that they’re being so supportive,” Rory said, and then suddenly remembered. “Oh hey, did you tell them about the _other thing?_ ” she asked.

“What other thing?” Lorelai asked, drawing a blank.

“You know, the _April thing_ ,” Rory reminded her. Understanding dawned on Lorelai.

“Oh, yeah. I mean, sort of. They got the Coles Notes version,” she said.

“So what did you tell them?” Sookie asked.

“Oh you know, just that Luke found out about his daughter and they were getting to know each other. Very bare bones.”

“Smart,” Rory said. “They don’t need all the details.”

“Yeah, no. They were already pretty skeptical about the whole thing.”

“Skeptical?” Sookie asked.

“Yeah, they started going on about insurance schemes, and our net worth, and what if April’s a scammer…”

“You’re kidding,” Rory said.

“Hi, have you met my parents?”

“That’s crazy,” she said.

“Again, have you met my parents?”

“Right,” Rory allowed. “But otherwise, a good night?”

“Yes,” Lorelai said. “A surprisingly good night at the Gilmores. I might have to write a musical about it.”

“Okay, but now Grandma and Grandpa officially know more about April than I do, so it’s time for you to dish,” Rory said before taking a bite of her pie.

“Oh yeah, is she cute? I heard she was cute,” Sookie said, starry eyed. Lorelai smiled gamely.

“Well, I haven’t spent much time with her so I don’t know her that well. But she is very cute, and super smart. She looks a little bit like Luke. She has his nose.” Rory’s eyes widened.

“Not as big, I hope,” she said. “Not that Luke’s nose is too big for his face, but it would look weird on a kid.”

“No, like a cute little miniature version. I mean, she obviously didn’t get a lot of her features from Luke, but you can tell, especially when you see them together.”

“So she must look like her mother then,” Rory said.

“I guess so,” Lorelai said. She really didn’t want to talk about Anna.

“Then she must be pretty. I remember Anna being really pretty,” Sookie said, thinking back to their younger days in Stars Hollow. She noticed Lorelai looking uncomfortable, while Rory fixed her with a glare. “Sorry,” she said quickly.

“No, no, it’s fine. April’s cute so I’m sure her mother is also, you know…” Lorelai let her sentence trail off.

“So you still haven’t you met her?” Rory asked.

“Met who?”

“April’s mother,” she clarified.

“Uh, no,” Lorelai said, taking a quick sip of her coffee to avoid the discussion.

“Well, do you know anything about her?”

“Not much,” she said. “Just that she owns a store in Woodbridge, and she and Luke dated a long time ago.”

“About thirteen years,” Sookie teased. Lorelai rolled her eyes.

“Yes, about that.”

“Wait, so you’re not at all curious about this woman?” Rory pushed.

“No, why would I be? She’s Luke’s ex. I don’t make a habit of obsessing over his exes.”

“Well, she’s not _just_ his ex,” Sookie said. “She’s the mother of his child. That’s a little different.”

“Look, Luke has this handled. I just need to let him do it,” Lorelai said.

“And you’re okay with just letting Luke handle it?” Sookie asked. Lorelai shrugged.

“It’s not like I have a choice.”

“Of course you have a choice, Mom. This is your relationship. If the situations were reversed…”

“New topic, please,” Lorelai begged.

“I’m just saying,” Rory continued, undeterred. “You and Luke were moving along just fine until all of this happened and now everything has come to a screeching halt. I know you. I know you’re not as okay with this as you’re trying to seem.” Lorelai dropped her eyes down to the coffee in her cup, willing it to swallow her whole.

“Rory’s right, sweetie. You haven’t been yourself lately,” Sookie said, a little softer. Lorelai took a deep, steadying breath and looked back up to her daughter and friend.

“There’s nothing I can do,” she said softly. “Luke has made it clear that he’s doing what Anna wants for the time being, and if I try to wedge myself in here, she’ll take April away. I can’t let that happen to him; it wouldn’t be fair.”

“Well, I think it stinks,” Rory said, indignantly. Lorelai huffed.

“I’m with you there,” she agreed. The trio fell into a silence for a long moment, before Sookie finally broke it.

“Okay, new topic,” she said. “Let’s name the baby!”

“Oh, yeah!” Rory agreed. “Now, we don’t know if it’s a boy or girl yet, so we have to be mindful not to get too attached to one name. That’s how you end up with little girls named Stanlina and Dougette.”

Lorelai smiled, grateful they agreed to let it go. She looked down at her little bump, rubbing her hand over it. It served as a tangible reminder that she and Luke were happy, and in love, and moving forward – even if it didn’t particularly feel that way right now. She listened as Rory and Sookie began rhyming off names, each one worse than the last.

This would pass soon. It had to. They were on a timeline.

**XXXX**

Lorelai finished up her lunch with Rory and Sookie and headed for home. The rest of the conversation had been far less intense. Lorelai appreciated that they seemed to get why she didn’t want to talk about Anna, but she also got why they were concerned. Sookie was right, she hadn’t been herself lately, and people were beginning to take notice.

She thought back to what Rory had said about her relationship with Luke coming to a standstill ever since April came into the picture. She hadn’t wanted to see it, but she couldn’t deny that it was true.

She decided to take the long way home from Weston’s, taking the route through the centre of town, and right past the diner. She wanted to see what it looked liked when Luke and April were together. She wanted to know what she was missing out on every time he asked her to stay away.

When she rounded the corner, she came to stop directly in front of Luke’s, looking in the window. She could see April sitting at the counter, books spread out in front of her. Luke was busy serving coffee. She watched as he made his way back around to her, giving the girl’s shoulder a playful nudge on his way. They shared a laugh.

It was all so casual, so easy. It was as if he had known her much longer than just a few months.

As Luke headed back out to serve another customer, he looked out the window and saw Lorelai. He nodded his hello and she offered a small wave. He turned and said a few words to Caesar before coming outside to meet her.

“Hey,” Lorelai greeted as he closed the door behind him.

“Hey back. Where are you coming from?”

“Weston’s.”

“Weston’s? That’s on the other side of town,” he said, confusedly.

“Oh, yeah, I thought it was a nice day for a walk,” Lorelai said, a little defensively. If Luke noticed, he didn’t let on.

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed. He spared a glance back toward the diner, and then returned to Lorelai. “So, uh, you weren’t coming in?”

“Uh, no, I know April’s here,” she said. Luke nodded, taking note of her demeanor.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m good,” she lied. “I was just with Rory and Sookie. Our baby is going to be named Guinevere, by the way.”

“And if it’s a boy?”

“Guinevere,” she repeated.

“Oh, well, I guess we better hope it’s a girl,” he joked. Lorelai offered a small smile and peered back into the diner.

“You should get back in there. Looks like April’s talking to Kirk.”

“Oh, yeah, I should get back.” He eyed her closely for a moment. “You sure you’re okay? You seem off.”

“Just a little tired,” she said. It wasn’t a total lie.

“Okay. Go home, get some rest. I shouldn’t be late,” he said. She said a brief goodbye before taking off toward their house, leaving him to head back inside to his daughter.

She didn’t know what she was looking for when came by, but she was pretty sure she didn’t find it.

**XXXX**

Lorelai and Luke were back in Dr. Sharpe’s office a few days later. Lorelai was 18 weeks along and it was finally time to learn the sex of the baby.

Luke could barely contain himself. The renovation had only just started on the third floor of their house, and he was already picking through swatches trying to find the perfect shade of pink or blue to paint the nursery. Lorelai thought it was sweet that he cared so much. He didn’t seem to have a strong opinion on whether he wanted a son or daughter, he was just eager to know so he could start planning out the space.

That thought made Lorelai laugh. Usually you heard stories of expectant mothers nesting and making all kinds of changes for their babies. In their case, she felt no different, and Luke couldn’t stop talking about the safest cribs, and changing tables, and whether or not they needed a Baby Bjorn. She’d had to hide the Babies R Us catalogue.

Lorelai was still adjusting to the gel on her stomach when the image appeared on the monitor.

“Look at that,” Luke said. “I can actually see it now.”

“Yeah, there it is,” Lorelai said, awe in her voice.

“Okay, so are you two ready to know what the sex is?” the doctor asked.

“Dear god, yes!” Luke exclaimed, barely keeping himself contained. Lorelai laughed at his urgency.

“Yes, please,” she said, more politely. Dr. Sharpe regarded the monitor closely for a moment before pulling back and offering them both a smile.

“Congratulations, you’re having a baby girl.” Lorelai felt her heart skip a beat.

“A girl,” she whispered. She turned to see Luke, who was smiling more brightly than she could ever remember.

“A girl,” he repeated. He caught her eye. “We’re gonna have a daughter.” They shared a long moment, hands clasped tightly. Lorelai felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

This, right here, was the feeling she had been missing for all of those weeks. She wanted to hold onto it for as long as possible.

After the appointment Luke and Lorelai got back in the truck to head home to Stars Hollow. Once on the road, they decided to call Rory to fill her in on the good news. Lorelai dialed and turned on the speaker phone.

_“Hello?”_

“Rory, it’s Mom and Luke,” Lorelai greeted.

 _“Both of you? To what do I owe this honour?”_ she questioned.

“Well, we wanted you to be the first to know,” Lorelai said.

_“Know what?”_

“That you’re going to have a baby sister,” Lorelai finished. They heard Rory gasp on the other end.

 _“It’s a girl?!”_ she cried.

“Yes!” Lorelai said.

_“Oh wow! Another Gilmore girl. We’re going to need to get matching tee-shirts or something.”_

“Or onesies!” Lorelai said. She saw Luke roll his eyes. “Don’t worry, Hon, we can get you one too,” she told him.

 _“Yeah Luke, you can be an honorary Gilmore girl,”_ Rory teased.

“Oh goody,” he deadpanned.

“Oh come on now, don’t pretend you don’t want to be part of the club,” Lorelai said, elbowing his arm lightly.

“I know what being a Gilmore girl entails, and you are not feeding my daughter chili fries and getting her addicted to coffee,” Luke said.

“Hate to break it to you, Doll, but the coffee addiction comes with the package. We were born this way, baby.”

“Besides, who’s to say she’s gonna a Gilmore girl? She could just as easily be a Danes girl. We’ll go camping and I’ll teach her how to fish and throw a ball,” Luke listed.

“Uh, have you ever seen a Gilmore sleep outside?” Lorelai asked.

“You never know. She could take after her dad,” Luke suggested. “I’ll have her gutting fish in no time.”

“If by ‘gutting fish’ you mean eating fish sticks from a box, then yes, absolutely,” Lorelai argued.

 _“I hate to get in the middle of this very tense debate, but I have to get to class,”_ Rory cut in. _“Thank you for calling me – this is very exciting news!”_

“Okay, bye sweets. I’ll see you for Friday night dinner.”

“Yeah, bye Rory,” Luke said. Lorelai turned off the phone when she heard it click on the other end. She grinned over at Luke.

“There’s gonna be three of us,” she said conspiratorially. Luke glanced over to her, a small smile playing on his lips.

“God help me.”

**XXXX**

When they arrived home from their appointment, Lorelai and Luke both went off in their separate directions: Luke to the diner and Lorelai to the Inn.

The baby buzz had lasted most of the day for Lorelai. She had shared the news with Sookie, who squealed with delight, and Michel, who grumbled under his breath about “more of them”. But even his customary surliness couldn’t drag her off cloud nine.

It wasn’t until she got home from work, and Luke took his nightly call from April, that she started to think once more about all of those unresolved issues.

They were having a baby in 22 weeks. She knew that Luke liked to take life one thing at a time, but they really couldn’t afford to have him this preoccupied when the baby came.

She tried to make a list in her head of all of the obstacles standing in the way of her and Luke finally bringing their family together, with _all_ of their children, and getting married. But as she mulled it over, she came to the conclusion that there was only really one true obstacle to accomplishing that goal. Anna, and her stupid, pointless mandate.

That night, as Lorelai laid in bed next to Luke, she couldn’t stop thinking about what needed to be done. Once again, their bed had been relocated to the living room as the second floor became covered in dust and debris from the addition going up overhead. Their locale only served to heighten her anxiety that things just weren’t quite right. They weren’t normal. And now, more than ever, she was craving normalcy.

She peered over at Luke in the dark. His eyes were closed, but he wasn’t asleep; he hadn’t reached that tell-tale stage where his breaths came long and steady, with the faintest hint of a snore. Knowing he was still awake, Lorelai decided to broach the topic.

“Luke?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he whispered sleepily.

“Can I talk to you about something?” She watched him open his eyes. He turned toward her, tucking his arm under his pillow. She adjusted to mirror his position so they were facing each other.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Well, not really, no,” she said softly. His brow furrowed.

“What’s up?”

“It’s just…” she stopped to gather her thoughts. “I know you need time to get to know April, and I fully support that,” she began. “But we have a baby on the way, you know? A daughter. And we only have a few months left to get our house in order, and I’m starting to get worried that this whole “no contact” rule from Anna is going to become a real problem, sooner than later.” Luke frowned.

“Yeah, I know,” he allowed. “I’m just not sure what to do about it right now.”

“Have you tried talking to her about it since?” she asked.

“No, I didn’t want to press the issue.” Lorelai frowned as Luke continued. “You didn’t hear her on that phone call, Lorelai. She didn’t mince her words. If I push it, I’m really worried that she’s going to take April away from me again, and I can’t let that happen.”

“No, of course you can’t,” Lorelai agreed. “But, Luke, we have to do something. I mean, what happens in August when the baby is here? Does April get to meet her? Does she get to be part of our lives?”

“I really don’t see this going on that long,” Luke hedged.

“But what if it does?” Luke sighed, but didn’t answer. “Have you considered getting some kind of custody agreement in place? Something legal and binding, so Anna can’t just take April away on a whim?”

“What, you mean like taking her to court?” he asked.

“Lots of people settle these things out of court. But if need-be, then yeah.”

“Lorelai,” he said, exhaustion evident in his voice. “I’ve only known April for a few months. I don’t think I stand a chance going against Anna in court. If I do that, I could lose her. Permanently.”

Lorelai sighed, sadness etched on her features.

“Then what do we do?” she asked. “We’re kind of on a timeline here. This can’t go on forever.”

“I know. It won’t,” he assured her. “Just give me a little more time before we start rocking the boat. Please?”

“How much time?” she pressed. He shook his head.

“I don’t know yet.” Lorelai was unsatisfied, but backed down. She knew she wasn’t getting the answer she wanted tonight.

“Keep me in the loop, okay?” she asked. He reached out to her and took her hand in his.

“You’ll know when I know. I promise.”


	4. Teambuilding Exercises

**Chapter 4: Teambuilding Exercises**

It was now mid-April, and Lorelai and Luke had just checked into a beautiful coastal cottage in Martha’s Vineyard.

A few days earlier Anna had informed Luke that she would be taking April with her for a month-long trip to New Mexico to visit her mother, who was preparing to undergo major surgery. Luke had offered to keep April for the duration, but Anna wasn’t too keen on the idea of being away from her daughter for so long. She assured him that the trip coincided with a planned break at April’s school, so she would only be missing two weeks of classes, and that she had made arrangements for April to do assignments and homework while away.

Still, Luke was put out that she wouldn’t even consider leaving April with him. They had been spending a lot of time together over past few months, including occasional overnights, and he was sure they would do just fine for an extended period of time.

To assuage some of his concerns, Anna made up a schedule for Luke and April to chat on the phone regularly while they were gone. It wasn’t much, but Luke decided he would take what he could get.

Unfortunately, the timing of the trip also meant he would be missing April’s 13th birthday – the first she would celebrate since she became part of his life. He and Anna agreed that when they returned in late May, he would be allowed to host a belated birthday party for her with her friends. It was his small way of showing them both that he wanted to be involved in every aspect of April’s life; a constant and steady presence.

Once he had learned that April would be out of town over Easter, Luke suggested to Lorelai that they take a trip too – a long weekend away to have some much-needed alone time. It had been a challenging couple of months for them, and they both agreed that it was time to get away, just the two of them, for some rest and relaxation.

Lorelai had offered to make the arrangements, but Luke shut her down completely. He told her she wouldn’t be allowed to lift a finger when it came to the trip.

He found himself regretting that promise when he saw how many bags she had packed.

Nevertheless, they were finally here, in a beautiful seaside cottage with a view that could take your breath away.

“Wow, remind me to let you make the plans more often,” Lorelai complimented Luke as she took in the view. He had just hauled the last of their bags into the bedroom of the small cottage, and was a little out of breath from the workout.

“I’m surprised my truck didn’t tip over,” he grumbled. Lorelai turned back to face him with a grin.

“Not your big manly truck,” she teased. “It may be a misogynist, but it sure knows how to haul.” Luke’s brow furrowed.

“What?”

“Never mind. So what’s the plan tonight?” She sat on the bed and watched as Luke unzipped his small suitcase and began putting his clothes in the drawers.

“The plan?”

“Uh, yeah, Mr. ‘Don’t Lift a Finger’, the plan. Are we getting dinner? Eating in? Seeing the sights?” she riddled off.

“Oh, yeah, right. Sorry, I was still getting my bearings after hauling my weight in luggage,” he joked. She rolled her eyes good naturedly as he continued. “I thought we’d go out for dinner. Find a seafood place nearby.”

“Really sink in to the maritime culture, huh? Start swearin’ like sailors and spittin’ in buckets?” Lorelai teased.

“A _nice_ seafood place. Some place with tablecloths,” he clarified.

“Wow, tablecloths. Are you sure they’ll let us in?” Luke could see the twinkle in her eyes, and it made him smile. It had been a while since things were this easy between them.

“I’ll be sure to tip the hostess.” She laughed and pulled herself up from the bed.

“Okay, so what should I wear to this mystery seafood restaurant?” she questioned, unzipping her bag.

“Something pretty,” he suggested.

“But what kind of pretty?” she asked. “Stuffy pretty, slinky pretty, slutty pretty? I’ve got ‘em all.”

“I believe you.” He made a show of eyeing her body up and down. “I wouldn’t say no to slutty pretty,” he finally said. Lorelai grinned widely, feeling a little twinge in her belly.

“Well, look who came to play!” she exclaimed. She dug in her bag for a few moments before emerging with a garment. She fixed him with a look. “You, out,” she said, hiding the dress behind her back and shooing him out of the room.

“I’m trying to get ready here,” he argued gently, all the while letting her push him toward the door.

“Me first,” she insisted.

“You know, I’ve seen it all before.”

“That’s not the point. Now get,” she said, finally getting him out the door. She fixed him with a sultry grin before shutting it in his face. She pulled the dress out from behind her back and eyed it conspiratorially.

If he wanted slutty pretty, he would get slutty pretty.

**XXXX**

It was half an hour later, and some very creative trench-coat work on Lorelai’s part, when they finally made their way up the walk to a local restaurant. They could tell right away that the place was a little higher brow than their usual fare. Beyond the white tablecloths and napkins shaped like swans, all of the servers were wearing white blazers with black slacks, and champagne was offered at the door. Lorelai and Luke politely declined the beverage as they were shown to their table.

The server quickly took their drink orders before leaving them alone with their menus.

Lorelai stood up to divest herself of her jacket, only to find Luke hopping up to help her out of it. She let him pull it from her shoulders and slide it down her arms, revealing the dress she had chosen to him for the first time.

She could feel his eyes raking over the expanse of her back that was left exposed by the fabric that dipped down to just above the base of her spine. The black halter was tied carefully at the nape of her neck to prevent any wardroom malfunctions.

Luke slung her jacket over the back of her seat before pulling it out for her, encouraging her to sit down. After he slid it back in, she felt his warm hand graze her bare skin, setting it on fire.

Finally, Luke came to sit across from her, taking in the plunging neckline and the way the dress hugged every part of her body.

“You pretty proud of yourself?” he asked, a smile playing on his lips. Lorelei offered a one-shouldered shrug and reached for her water glass, taking a sip.

“I figured I should show off the goods while I still got ‘em,” she came back. Luke laughed out loud, just as the server arrived with their drink orders. He held his draught beer out and clinked glasses with her mocktail.

“To you,” he toasted, reminding her of their first date together.

“I’ll drink to that.”

The evening continued on with easy banter that the pair had perfected over nine years of friendship and adoration. After an amazing dinner, and unparalleled dessert, Lorelai and Luke opted to walk the beach just outside the restaurant before heading back to the cottage.

“I really cannot believe I've never had lobster before. It's my favorite thing out of the sea now. Kicks tuna's ass, kicks salmon's ass,” Luke said as they walked in the sand.

“Yeah, it's good stuff,” Lorelai agreed. They’d had a great meal, and a beautiful night. It had been pleasant, with lots of laughing and teasing and innuendo. She should have been happy, but now as they walked, hearing the waves hit the shore, she found herself growing uneasy. Somehow this time alone with Luke, away from all of the things that had been putting so much stress on their relationship, left her thinking about them even more.

She barely heard Luke when he continued to rave about the lobster.

“We've got to find a good lobster place near Stars Hollow. Probably have to go to Litchfield. I'm not even going to attempt the lobster at Al’s Pancake World. Do you know a good lobster place?” He was met with an uncharacteristic silence from Lorelai. When he turned to look at her, he saw that all-too-familiar look of sadness on her face. “What's wrong? Didn’t you like your dinner?”

“Oh, no, I did. It was great.”

“So what is it?” She stopped walking and looked out toward the blackness of the ocean.

“I don't know… Lately, I've been feeling like it's just not going to happen.”

“What’s not going to happen?”

“Our wedding,” she explained.

“No, Lorelai, that's crazy. Of course it's going to happen.”

“But do you really want it to?” she asked. The question had been plaguing her ever since they postponed the wedding, and she finally just needed to ask him.

“Yes!” he said emphatically. “We're engaged. That hasn't changed. The wedding's just been postponed. That's all.”

“It's not feeling like it's postponed.” Luke turned more fully toward her, forcing her to face him instead of the rolling waves.

“What happened? I thought this trip would make you happy. It's making you sad.”

“No, it's not. I guess I’m just feeling a little vulnerable lately with, you know, everything.” She gestured into the wind, at everything and nothing.

“Is it me?” he asked gently. “Am I making you feel this way?” She shrugged, unsure of the answer.

“I don’t know. There’s just a lot going on, you know, with the baby, and the renovation, and April, and _Anna._ I feel like I’m not a part of any of it. And now we’re here in this beautiful place, and we’re together in a way we haven’t been for months, and it’s all I can think about.” She shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts. “I’m sorry, this isn’t fair to do. Not here. Not when you’ve done all of this to make me happy.”

“Lorelai, we're getting married,” he said firmly. She caught his eye, meaningfully.

“I really want to believe that.” Luke took a long breath and let it out slowly, as if gathering his thoughts.

“Look, I know I've been preoccupied. I don't like that about myself. It's just who I am. I get in my own head, and I forget about the people around me. You know I love you, right?”

“I know you do,” she said.

“I love you, Lorelai, and I'm going to marry you, and at our wedding, we are having lobster,” he finished.

“So what about April?” Lorelai asked, undeterred. His brow furrowed.

“April?”

“When we get back, is it business as usual?” Luke reached out and took both of her hands in his, catching her eye intently.

“Lorelai, I want you to get to know April. I want her to be part of your life.”

“Okay, but what does that mean?” she pushed.

“It means, I’m gonna handle it. We’re doing this together from now on, okay?” he suggested. Lorelai’s eyes brightened at that.

“Yeah?” She allowed herself to be hopeful.

“Yes, absolutely. You’re my fiancée. We’re getting married. You need to know my daughter. Besides, I’m pretty sure I offered to host a birthday party for a bunch of thirteen-year-old girls, and there’s no way I can do it without your help.” Lorelai laughed brightly at that.

“I was planning to help whether you wanted me to or not,” she admitted.

“I figured,” he said, before meeting her gaze, more seriously. “Are we okay?”

“Yeah,” she said softly. “We’re gonna be fine.”

“Good.”

“So hey, do you want to head back to the cottage? I’ve got some creative ideas for how we can use this dress,” she suggested, feeling her previous good mood beginning to make a comeback.

“As long as it ends up on the floor, I’m really open to anything.”

**XXXX**

Lorelai and Luke were still laying in bed late the next morning. They had enjoyed a long night together, finally drifting off to sleep in the wee hours of the morning tangled up in one another. When they awoke, they both sat up against a mountain of pillows and snuggled in close as Lorelai pulled out a yellow legal pad and they got to work on one of the few tasks they were determined to accomplish before heading home.

“Florence?” Luke suggested.

“Ugh, pass,” Lorelai said. “Cordelia?”

“Pass. Genevieve?”

“Pass. Clementine?”

“Pass. Gertrude? We’ll call her Gertie for short,” he posited.

“Why do you want our daughter to get picked on?” Lorelai came back.

“I just like older names,” he explained.

“Well, can you at least come up with ones that wouldn’t be fitting for a prize hog?”

“It’s not like you’re doing any better,” he countered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means we’re not naming our daughter Wilhelmina Flamenco the Third. There wasn’t even a first and second,” he deadpanned.

“I just want her to be special,” she argued, although a small smile was playing on her lips. “Hey, I know…”

“No,” Luke said, firmly.

“You don’t even know what I was going to say!”

“I know what you were going to say, and no, you cannot name both of your daughters Lorelai.”

“If kings can do it then so can I,” she said, pouting, arms crossed over her chest.

“Can we just go back to the list we have?” Luke said, trying to salvage the conversation that had gone so far off the rails. Lorelai sighed and picked up the legal pad.

“There are only three names on here.”

“Good, that narrows us down,” Luke said, emphatically.

“Iris?” Lorelai asked, reading from the pre-approved list.

“I like Iris,” he said softly.

“Nora?”

“I like that too.”

“Lydia?”

“Another good one.”

“See? We’re no closer,” Lorelai exclaimed, dropping the list on her lap.

“Well, which one do you like best?” he questioned.

“I don’t know. Which one goes best with Gilmore?” she questioned.

“You mean Danes?” She bristled a little at that.

“Oh no,” she said, as if realizing for the first time. “We haven’t talked about this, have we?”

“Uh no, I guess we haven’t,” he said slowly. “I just figured…”

“Yeah, well, so did I.”

“But you know, the kid usually takes the dad’s name.”

“Not my kid. Rory’s been a Gilmore since day one.”

“Right, I know. But April doesn’t have my name, and if our baby is a Gilmore then I officially have no kids named Danes. The name dies with me.” Lorelai sighed.

“I know. I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Well, we haven’t really talked about what we’re going to do when we’re married. Maybe we should,” he broached.

“Yeah, I guess,” she said timidly.

“I mean, it’s up to you what you want to do. I never really expected you to take my name,” he put out there.

“Honestly, changing my name never occurred to me,” she admitted. “Not that I have some great ‘Gilmore Pride’, but I’ve built a life with my name, a career. I have a daughter with my name. It just feels wrong to change it.” Luke nodded his understanding.

“I get it, really. I don’t want you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.” She eyed him, as an idea came to her.

“Hey, you could change your name,” she suggested. He huffed a laugh at that. “Come on! Luke Gilmore, has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

“You’re serious?” he asked.

“Sure, why not? This isn’t the 12th century. We can do what we want.”

“Lorelai, you may not have that ‘Gilmore Pride’, but I do have some Danes Pride. My dad… it just wouldn’t feel right to me.”

“Okay,” Lorelai said, a little deflated. “So neither of us is changing our name?” He shook his head. “Then we’re no closer to figuring out what our baby’s name is going to be.”

They each took a moment to mull over the question at hand.

“Why don’t we just use both,” he suggested. “I mean, not us, but the kid. She’ll be a Danes Gilmore.” Lorelai quirked a small smile at that.

“Or a Gilmore Danes,” she suggested.

“Or that,” he agreed. “Has a nice right to it, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does,” she smiled. “I like it.”

“Baby Gilmore Danes,” Luke tested out.

“She still needs a first name. And a middle,” Lorelai reminded him.

“You sure we can’t just call her ‘Baby’ forever?” he joked. Lorelai shook her head and returned to the list.

“Iris Gilmore Danes.”

“I like it,” he said softly.

“Nora Gilmore Danes.”

“A little less,” he waffled.

“Lydia Gilmore Danes?” Luke sighed.

“I like that one too.” Lorelai chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment, considering the options.

“I think I like Lydia,” she finally said. “Lydia Rose, after your mom.” Luke smiled at that.

“Yeah?” She nodded. He watched her for a moment as she looked up at him, waiting for his response. “I love you, Lorelai,” he finally said. She smiled up at him.

“So that’s it then?” she questioned. He nodded his affirmation.

“Lydia Rose Gilmore Danes. A bit of a mouthful, but…”

“But Gilmores are notoriously good with mouthfuls,” she finished his sentence.

“Uh, dirty,” he teased. They both laughed out loud at that. Luke eased himself gently on top of her, careful to avoid her growing bump, and silenced their laughter with a kiss. The list, trapped between their bodies, was forgotten.

**XXXX**

It was an unseasonably warm day for mid-April, which Luke and Lorelai discovered when they finally pulled themselves from their cocoon in bed sometime after 1pm. Although they had floated the idea of just staying in bed all day, eventually their pangs of hunger won out and forced them up and out of the cottage that Lorelai had taken to calling “The Love Shack” somewhere between their third and fifth time making love the night before.

Because it was a beautiful day, Luke decided to prepare them a hearty lunch that they could enjoy on the balcony overlooking the ocean. They weren’t close enough to the water to get the mist from the waves, but they felt every bit of that cool ocean breeze and the smell of salt in the air permeated their senses. It all came together to create a feeling of being in a bubble, where no one could find them and nothing could take away their vacation bliss.

Lorelai took a large bite of her BLT while Luke worked on his turkey sandwich, chatting about nothing in particular as the waves rolled in.

“So what do you plan to do with your apartment now that we don’t need to rent it out to pay for the renovation?” Lorelai asked.

“I don’t know. I guess I could rent it out anyway. The extra cash couldn’t hurt.”

“But we don’t really need extra cash, do we?”

“No,” he agreed. “But it’s just sitting up there empty. It’s a waste of a perfectly good space.”

“But that was your dad’s office, and it’s been your home for fifteen years. Do you really want someone else living up there?”

“Not really,” he allowed. “But what else am I gonna do with it? I don’t need it anymore.”

“I think you should just hold onto it. Use it like your dad did.”

“As an office?” he asked. Lorelai nodded. “I don’t really need all that much space to put in bread orders.”

“Well then, not just an office. It’ll still be your space, where you can eat your lunch and keep an extra shirt for when you get ketchupped. You can even keep the beds in there for when we have guests in from out of town.”

“Because we entertain so often?” he teased.

“I’m just trying to find a good reason for you to keep it.” Luke smiled at her lovingly.

“I’ll keep it,” he finally said. “I’ll use as an office.”

“And an annex,” Lorelai reminded him. He rolled his eyes.

“Suddenly we’re the Hiltons?” he asked. She laughed at that.

“We could be. You can be the Nicole to my Paris. Or the Kim to my Paris. But honestly, I think Kim has more staying power, so maybe I should be Kim and you can be Paris.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked blankly.

“Never mind,” she said with a chuckle. She looked back out over the waves and allowed a pleasant silence to fall over them. Luke regarded her for a long moment before speaking again.

“What about eloping?” he asked out of the blue. Lorelai shook her head, trying determine if she had heard him correctly.

“What?”

“Eloping, we can do that, right? Instead of planning this whole big thing?”

“You mean like ‘fly to Vegas, Elvis impersonator officiant, Tunnel of Love’? That kind of eloping?” she questioned.

“No. Well, I mean, if that’s what you want to do, sure. Or we could just go away for another weekend like this and get hitched,” he suggested.

“Get hitched? Just like that?” she asked, a small smile on her lips. He shrugged.

“Why not?”

“But Rory has to be there. Is it still eloping if Rory is there?”

“Sure, why not? I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules about this kind of thing.” Lorelai thought about this for a moment, before giving her head a decisive shake.

“I don’t think so,” she said gently.

“Why not?”

“Not to be a total girl about this, but I kind of want the ‘whole big thing’. I want to get married surrounded by our friends and family.” Luke offered a small smile at that.

“And here I thought I was being romantic.” She reached over and put her hand on his arm.

“Oh, you were, Hon. Very romantic.”

“But no?” he asked. She shook her head.

“But no.” He huffed a small laugh and brought his hand over to cover hers on his arm, giving it a little squeeze.

“So we’re doing the whole big thing, then.” She nodded with a smile, and he returned it. “I can do that.” He leaned in a little closer. “Besides, I kinda like that you’re a total girl sometimes.” Lorelai laughed at that.

“Even if it means sometimes getting glitter on your flannel?” she poked. He laughed.

“Even then.”

The pair returned to their easy conversation then, all thoughts about eloping lost to the ebb of the tides.


	5. Super-Cool Party People

**Chapter 5 of 9: Super-Cool Party People**

It was an overcast day near the end of May when Luke and Lorelai found themselves walking arm-in-arm through the Hartford shopping district. Anna and April had returned from New Mexico a few days prior, and the intended purpose of the shopping trip was to collect supplies for April’s 13th birthday party, which Luke had offered to host. Of course, with Lorelai at his side, a few diversions into maternity stores were in order, leaving him toting three giant bags of clothes for her, along with a bag of balloons and streamers for the party.

They bantered and teased as they strolled past rows of shops and restaurants. Lorelai was almost six months into her pregnancy, and was holding up reasonably well, though even her least form-fitting clothes were now too tight to contain her protruding belly.

As they walked, Luke peered into a shop window, his eye caught by images of furry cats and bright colours.

“Hey, what do you think of that?” he asked, pointing to the objects behind the glass.

“What?” Lorelai asked.

“The toiletry kit.”

“What? And throw away the five-year-old Dixie cup you use to hold your toothbrush? It’s historical!” she teased.

“I mean as a birthday present for April,” he clarified.

“April who?” Lorelai jokingly questioned.

“Come on, it’s cute,” he pushed.

“Um yeah, I don’t think it’s quite right.”

“Come on, it’s girly, it’s got cats on it.”

“Oh well, if it’s got cats on it.”

“April likes cats.” Lorelai laughed lightly.

“Yeah, but it’s a toiletry kit. It’s so… hygienic.”

“I think she’ll like it.”

“Luke, it’s weird! It says, ‘Happy birthday, now go clean yourself up’.”

“Nah, if she doesn’t like it, I’ll get her a follow-up gift.”

“Why not get her the perfect gift right up front?”

“Why couldn’t that be the perfect gift? You don’t know.”

“I know girls, it’s not the right gift,” she pushed. “Hey, there’s a store a few blocks down that has great stuff. I could take you there and show you fifty things I know she’d like. Some of them may even have cats on them.”

“I think I’m gonna get that,” he decided.

“Come on, Luke. I can really help you here.”

“I’m not saying you can’t, I know you’re an expert, but I need to do this,” he said with finality.

“Then do it. I’m just saying, let me be part of it,” she said lightly.

“You are, but I still need to take the lead here,” he said. 

She frowned. “Why?”

“Because the moment you start running the show, it’ll be all over for me.”

“What? That’s ridiculous.”

“No, it’s not ridiculous. You’re colourful and funny. You’re practically a cartoon character. Kids love you. I wouldn’t want to hang out with me either after spending time with you.”

“Luke!”

“She’ll like you better, that is just a fact.”

“No, you’re her dad.”

“Yes, I am her dad, and I’m still trying to figure out how to be a dad. If April thinks you planned this whole party, she’ll start to realize how bad I am at this,” he said, with a hint of disappointment.

“What are you talking about? You’ve been great.”

“I’ve been making it up as I go along,” he admitted. “I don’t know how to do this. I mean, there’s the basic stuff like making sure she eats dinner and does her homework – that, I can do. But the fun stuff, the emotional stuff, the _teenage girl_ stuff… I’m just not there yet.”

“Luke, you may be new to being a parent, but you’re not exactly an amateur with the dad stuff,” Lorelai said, matter-of-factly. Luke looked at her, his confusion evident.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’ve done this already. Sure, you’re not Rory’s dad, but you were there when she was growing up. You were there for her birthdays, you made her coffee cake and gave her bizarre gifts. You chased off boys who made her cry, and you were there for her when she needed you.”

“That’s not dad stuff,” he shrugged off.

“Yes, it is,” she said emphatically. “And it’s not just that. Do you remember that summer she decided to play softball? You taught her how to throw a ball – that’s classic dad stuff.”

“She didn’t even make it through one game.”

“Well, she’s not exactly a born athlete, and that’s not the point,” Lorelai surged on. “You were there. You were there because you cared about her, and you wanted her to have the things she wasn’t getting from her own father. Luke, you built her bookshelves, you went to her graduation, you moved her into Yale, you stored her disgusting microbe mattress.”

“I didn’t have a choice about that,” he reminded her, sternly.

“You have been more of a dad to Rory than anyone. So for you to stand here and tell me that you don’t know how to be a dad to April… it’s just not true! You have to know that it’s not true.” Luke looked down at his shoes, then back up to Lorelai.

“Then why do I feel so lost?” he asked, sincerely. Lorelai put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“Welcome to being a parent, Hon. ‘Lost’ is our default setting.” He sighed and looked back at the kitty-clad hygiene set.

“It’s really not a good gift?” he asked, dejected. She pulled him close, linking her arm through his.

“Maybe keep it in the back of your mind for when she goes off to college,” she suggested. He nodded, resigned to move on.

“Where to next?”

**XXXX**

“So you definitely have everything you need for the party, right?” Lorelai asked as she rushed around their bedroom, putting in an earring while simultaneously attempting to slip on a shoe, failing at both endeavours.

“I’ve got it under control,” Luke assured her. He was sitting on the end of the bed, buttoning up his flannel, watching her dash around the room in a rush.

“But you have the streamers and balloons? You know how to put them up?”

“Yes, believe it or not I have blown up balloons before,” he teased gently. Lorelai finally got her foot into her second shoe and stopped hopping around.

“But you have the food planned out, and you know how many girls are coming…”

“I’ve got it handled. It’s planned. It’ll be just fine,” Luke said, cutting her off. He stood up from the bed and approached her, projecting an air of confidence. “It’s gonna be great.” Lorelai offered a smile.

“I know, I know. I just want it to be perfect for you, and for April. I really wish I could be there to help,” she said softly. Luke rubbed her arms with his hands.

“I know. But you’ve got your honey thing today.”

“Maple syrup,” she corrected him.

“Right.”

“A maple syrup convention. It might be the most ‘country inn’ thing that’s ever happened, and sure enough, it’s happening today at our very own Dragonfly. Maybe we’ll make it an annual event, like the Firelight Festival, but instead of winning stuffed animals, you get cavities,” she joked. Luke leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, if only to make her stop talking.

“You go take the maple syrup world by storm. I’ve got the party under control. Don’t worry about us,” he said. She smiled briefly before catching the time on the clock.

“Oh, I’ve got to go. I’m late.”

“I didn’t realize you could be late for maple syrup,” Luke deadpanned.

“Yeah, well, you learn something new every day,” she said in a rush. She gave him another quick peck on the cheek before heading for the door. “Good luck with the party. I can’t wait to hear all about it!”

With that, she was gone. Luke grinned, excited to get to the diner. He had streamers to hang and balloons to blow up.

**XXXX**

Luke looked around the diner at a dozen 13-year-old girls who were clearly bored out of their skulls. You could hear a pin drop. It was shortly after 3 PM and the party had begun a little more than an hour earlier.

It had started out well enough. Despite some momentary awkwardness when he laid out the party rules, soon all of them were gabbing about whatever it was teenage girls gabbed about, and he thought he was home free. But he realized after about 30 minutes that the conversation seemed to be dying down.

He just thought the party would run itself, like all of the other parties he went to. There weren’t a lot of games at the post-high school keggers he attended in his youth.

He felt panic rising in his chest as he took in the scene. He was ruining the first birthday he would ever spend with his daughter. She was going to hate him after this. Who wants to spend time with a guy who can’t even put together a game of pin the tail on the donkey?

Do 13-year-olds even _play_ pin the tail on the donkey?

He was totally out of his depth.

In a moment of desperation, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialed the Inn, stepping out the front door of the diner so the girls couldn’t hear him.

_“Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai speaking.”_ He felt a wave of relief at the sound of her voice.

“I need you,” he rushed out.

_“Luke?”_

“I need you. They’re not talking, they’re not eating, they’re afraid to use the bathroom…”

_“Afraid to use the bathroom? Why?”_

“I don’t know, I just need you, Lorelai! I can’t do this. I don’t know why I thought I could.”

_“Luke, calm down,”_ she said, firmly. _“What did you have planned for them? Just play a game, get them doing an activity.”_

“An activity?” he asked.

_“You did plan an activity…”_ she prompted.

“I thought the party _was_ the activity!” he exclaimed.

_“Okay, look, the syrup tasting should be wrapping up soon, and then they’re all leaving for carriage rides. I can maybe come by then.”_

“Please hurry,” Luke pressed.

_“Half an hour, Babe. I’ll be there.”_

Luke hung up the phone and peered back into the diner. One of the girls was emptying a salt shaker on the counter. Another was drawing shapes with ketchup on a table.

He needed help.

**XXXX**

True to her word, Lorelai showed up a little more than half an hour later. She swept in with her usual high energy, vibrant and ready to take charge. Luke had never felt more relieved.

“Hey, everybody. I'm Lorelai Gilmore. Thank you so much for your patience. I'm really glad you guys waited to start the party until I got here,” she said on arrival. Within seconds she had placed a fuzzy purple tiara atop April’s head, lined up the girls and swept them out into the town. Luke brought up the rear, watching as his fiancée led a dozen teenagers “serpenting” through the streets of Stars Hollow.

He watched in amazement as she let them shop, guided their makeovers, made up games on the spot and got to know each and every girl by name.

He sat back as April approached Lorelai, asking her to draw a sparkly heart on her cheek. He watched as his daughter and fiancée talked and laughed. It was so natural for Lorelai to be able to do this with April, just like she had always done with Rory. It was easy.

He felt a twinge of guilt at having kept them apart for so many months. When he agreed to Anna’s rules back in February, he never imagined that he’d still be running interference at the end of May. Seeing Lorelai with April now made him realize how poor a decision that had been. She was so good with her, and good _for_ her. He thought about all of the times over the past few months that he had wanted to invite her along, knowing April would love her.

He was pulled from his self recrimination by Kirk coming into the diner, toting the mobile projector from the BWR Theatre. Finally having something more to do than refill chip bowls, he rounded the counter to help him set up the movie – yet another brilliant activity he never would have thought up on his own.

The rest of the party went so smoothly that Luke even found himself agreeing to extend the evening, turning the party into a sleepover. He never could have dreamed that he’d be hosting a slumber party.

Of course, when Lorelai suggested she leave, he felt that insecurity return forcefully.

“What? No, stay. You’ve got to stay,” he urged.

“Won’t that be weird though? You and me together in your apartment with a bunch of kids?”

“You take the bed. I’ll come up with something. Besides, it’s probably better for you to be up there than some old guy sleeping alone in a room with 12 teenage girls,” he pointed out. Lorelai grimaced.

“Ugh, yeah, I didn’t think of that.”

“So, you’ll stay?” he asked gently. “I know April would want you to.” She smiled brightly at that and gave a decisive nod.

“Okay, yeah, I’ll stay.”

It was a little after 11pm when Luke made up his cot in the storage room and set his alarm for early the next morning. He planned to wake up before the girls and make them chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.

His final thought before he closed his eyes was that of total awe. He didn’t know how she did it. He didn’t know why he ever thought he could, or should do it without her.

At least he knew now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, his daughter deserved to have Lorelai Gilmore in her life.

**XXXX**

Luke was busy cleaning up after the lunch rush. The girls had all been picked up by nine, and Anna had come in early to take April so she wouldn’t miss her morning swim practice. He had filled her in on some of the highlights from the party, and Anna was pleased that the girls seemed to have such a great time. April was practically bouncing off the walls, eager to fill her in on all of the details.

Luke was in a great mood all day. Even Kirk’s usual insanity and Taylor’s continuing existence could not wipe the smile off his face.

He finally felt like he was getting it. He was getting this “dad thing”. And April had been so appreciative, he just knew she felt the same way. She had even started calling him “Dad” with regularity. It felt like an accomplishment, like this relationship that he’d been working so hard to build was becoming stronger and stronger.

Luke’s blissful afternoon was shattered when the bells over the door rang, and suddenly Anna was in front of him. If it was possible for steam to actually pour out of someone’s ears, it would be happening now.

“Anna, hi,” Luke greeted.

“Can we talk in private?” she said abruptly. Luke agreed hesitantly and gestured for her to take the stairs up to his apartment, following closely behind her.

As soon as the door closed, Anna turned on him.

“I can't believe you did this.”

“Did what?” he asked, desperately trying to catch up.

“You said you wanted to throw her a party, Luke. You!”

“I know. I did!”

“No, you had your girlfriend throw her a party. A girlfriend I don’t even know. A girlfriend I've never even met. This is not our agreement!”

“Wow, wait a minute I did throw the party. Lorelai was just helping out.”

“Helping out?”

“Yes.”

“April said you spent the night downstairs.”

“I spent the night in the storage room. I thought it would be a little weird…”

“So when you were in the storage room, your girlfriend was upstairs with the girls.”

“My fiancée,” he quickly corrected her.

“We had an agreement. You promised you weren’t going to do this!” she exclaimed.

“It’s been months, Anna. Lorelai and I are getting married, she’s going to be April’s stepmother; they need to get to know each other,” he explained, trying to keep his tone steady. It did not escape him how April bristled at the word “stepmother”.

“That’s not your call to make!” she exclaimed. “If I can't trust you, Luke, this arrangement is not gonna work.”

“I know, I'm sorry. You can trust me, I swear,” he backtracked.

“You know what? I’m too mad. I can't even look at you right now,” she spit out, before making a run for the exit. Luke sat back and watched in shock as the door slammed behind her. With the shaking of the glass, he could swear he felt the earth giving way beneath his feet.

This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t happen. He couldn’t lose her now.

**XXXX**

Luke returned home from work, his head pounding, his shoulders heavy. He made his way into the kitchen and kissed Lorelai hello as she began to talk about her day, their six-month prenatal appointment, and the best way to eat Chinese food without dirtying dishes. As they dug into the containers, Lorelai took note of his demeanor.

“Everything okay?” she asked. 

“Anna came by the diner.” Lorelai’s eyebrows shot up.

“Why, what’s up?”

“She’s mad. Really mad,” he said with forced casualness.

“What about?” Lorelai asked, a pit forming in her stomach.

“The party. She’s mad that I didn’t tell her you were going to be at the party. Mad that I let you and April spend time together. Mad that I left the girls with you overnight,” he began listing Anna’s litany of complaints, but Lorelai was stuck on one in particular.

“What do you mean she’s mad that April spent time with me?” she interrupted. Luke shook his head, as if trying to make sense of it all.

“She started going on and on about how I can’t leave April with you, and how that wasn’t our agreement, and how she can’t trust me. At least, I think that was her point, it was hard to tell through all the yelling.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Lorelai said, her voice raising. “It’s been months since you started seeing April. This whole ‘distance’ thing was supposed to be temporary. And I’m not some passing fling, I’m your fiancée. I’m pregnant! Did you tell her we’re having a baby?”

“It didn’t come up.”

“Well, does she know?” she questioned. He sighed, agitated. 

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it matters!” she exclaimed. “Luke, she doesn’t get to make this call. You’re April’s father. You have rights here.” Luke sighed, frustrated that the conversation was returning to this place.

“I know I have rights, Lorelai, but I’m still trying to build a relationship with my daughter here. What happens if I push and she takes her away? What happens if we go to court and I lose? The risks are too high!” he reiterated his prior arguments, his agitation becoming more and more visible.

“You’re not going to lose!” she came back, matching his volume. Luke slammed his hands on the table and jumped out of his seat, startling Lorelai.

“You don’t know that! You think you know, because you think you know _everything_ , but you don’t.” Lorelai sat back in her chair in stunned silence as Luke began to pace the room, heat radiating from him as he continued on.

“I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there for her birth. I wasn’t there for her first day of school. I wasn’t there for her science fairs, and when she lost her first tooth, and when she fell off her bike, and when she got the flu. I should have taken care of her, but I didn’t, because I wasn’t there!” Luke began listing as he paced. He stopped in his tracks and turned to Lorelai, his shoulders slumping as his aggravation melted into sadness and fear. “I’ve missed so much. I can’t miss more.”

Silence overtook the room for a few moments as they both took stock of what had been said. Luke leaned back against the counter, his hands on his hips, weariness evident on his face.

Lorelai pulled herself from her seat at the kitchen table and took a few steps in his direction. She reached out and tentatively touched his left hand.

“You’re not going to miss it,” she said softly. He sighed, his chin dropping to his chest.

“How do you know?” he asked. His voice cracked, and Lorelai could see all of the hurt he had been hiding breaking through.

“I just know,” she said, with finality. She wrapped her hand around his and pulled it from his hip. “Come on, let’s eat.”

“I’m really not hungry,” he protested meekly.

“Well then you can sit and watch me eat for two,” she said, a small placating grin on her lips. He looked up at her then, regret evident in his gaze.

“I’m sorry for this, Lorelai.” She knew he wasn’t just talking about this moment, this fight. She gave his hand a squeeze.

“I know.” He let her lead him back to the table to try and salvage what was left of their night.


	6. Now or Never

**Chapter 6: Now or Never**

Lorelai felt her stomach twisting in knots as she took the exit for Woodbridge, feeling at once determined and so deeply unsure of her decision to visit Anna. She took another look at her map and set it down on the passenger’s seat before taking her next left, en-route to her shop.

Once inside, she noted that it was tightly packed, but bright and friendly and full of colour, which made Lorelai hate Anna just a little bit more. She wanted it to be dingy and gross, maybe with a few cobwebs. Anything to make the woman seem just a little bit more like the person she had conjured in her head.

She was caught off guard when a petite brunette skittered past her. Lorelai took a moment to eye her up and down. She looked harmless enough. Dark brown hair, bright blue eyes, a bit too pretty for her liking; no gruesome moles or hooked nose. Lorelai sighed and made her way over to the woman who had brought so much misery into her life.

The conversation started pleasantly enough. Lorelai wasn’t sure if she could go through with it, talking to Anna about Luke and April. But finally, with a burst of nervous determination, she pressed on.

“Are you looking for anything specific?” Anna asked.

“Uh yeah, you actually,” she admitted. “I’m Lorelai Gilmore, Luke’s fiancée.” If Anna was surprised, she hid it well.

“Oh, well. Good to meet you,” she offered.

“Yeah, you too,” Lorelai said gamely. Anna’s eyes flitted down to her very pregnant belly and back up quizzically. “I didn’t know Luke had a baby on the way.”

“Yeah, he said he hadn’t mentioned it,” Lorelai confirmed, just in case Anna thought she was catching Luke in a lie. She didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.

“So is that why you’re here?” she asked. “To show me?” Lorelai’s brow creased.

“Uh, no, actually I came to talk about April. Or, well, me and April, specifically.”

“Lorelai – it was Lorelai right?” Lorelai nodded, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. “Lorelai,” she started again. “It’s not about you. Really. I’m just trying to protect my kid. You have one on the way, I’m sure you can understand that.”

“Actually, this is my second. I have a daughter. She’s older. She goes to Yale.” Anna nodded.

“So you get it. We do what we need to do.”

“But that’s the thing, Anna. I get that you think you need to protect April, but you don’t. Not with me, and certainly not with Luke. He loves her so much; he would never do anything to hurt her.”

“I appreciate how you feel about this, Lorelai, but April’s just a kid. She can’t have all of these people coming in and out of her life. It’s confusing for her.” Lorelai huffed out a breath, trying to keep a handle on her frustration.

“But Luke and I are engaged. This isn’t just some fling, you know? April and I have to get to know each other,” she tried again.

“Eventually, maybe. But engaged isn’t married,” Anna continued. “April’s still getting used to having Luke in her life, and I’m still trying to figure out if that’s a permanent situation. It’s all a little much for her right now,” she reasoned.

“Is it a little much for her, or a little much for you?” Lorelai finally said, going right at it. She was tired of this dance. Tired of the pleasantries and tiptoeing. Anna’s façade hardened.

“I’m her mother. It’s up to me who is in April’s life.”

“And Luke is her father!” Lorelai exclaimed. “He gets to make these decisions too.”

Anna shook her head. “He’s new to this. All of it. I can’t trust his judgment.”

“And whose fault is it that Luke is new to this?” Lorelai cried. “He didn’t even know he had a daughter until April found him. April. Not you. A twelve-year-old had to…” she cut herself off, biting her tongue against the hundreds of vile things she wanted to scream at the woman standing across the counter from her. Anna crossed her arms over her chest protectively and gestured for the door.

“I think it’s time for you to leave.” Lorelai leveled her with a glare.

“Do you know what you did to him? Do you know how hard it’s been for him to know that he missed all of those years with her?” Lorelai pushed. Anna rounded the counter and opened the door, gesturing for her to leave.

“Please go,” Anna kept a cool and detached tone, unwilling to give an inch. Lorelai headed for the door, turning to face Anna one more time before she left.

“Luke’s going to be in April’s life, and so am I. I suggest you get used to it.”

With that, Lorelai brushed past Anna and out the door. She heard it slam behind her, bells jingling angrily in her wake.

When she got back to her car, her phone began to ring. She took a quick look at it, saw that it was Luke, and shoved it back into her purse. She wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. She needed to think about what had happened with Anna, and what her next move was going to be. She put the Jeep in gear and headed out, leaving Woodbridge, driving in the direction opposite Stars Hollow.

She drove for close to an hour before pulling onto a coastal road and parking on the shoulder. She looked out onto the ocean as it lapped at the shore a few yards away. Carefully, she eased her way down an embankment and onto the rocky beach below.

It was all too much. Luke, April, Anna, the baby. She felt like she was losing control of her life, like she didn’t have a say anymore. For months, she had let Luke take the lead, let him keep her at arm’s-length while he lived this entire life that she wasn’t a part of.

For the briefest of moments, she wished she wasn’t pregnant so she could tell if Luke was still in this for her, or if he was just sticking around because of the baby – his second chance at fatherhood. The notion made her flush with rage, and sadness, and utter frustration because she simply didn’t know the answer. Luke had been so preoccupied that he barely seemed to notice her anymore, unless he was policing what she was eating, or making her choke down horse-tranquilizer-sized prenatal vitamins.

When they were away in Martha’s Vineyard, he had said and done all of the right things. He lulled her into a sense of security and peace, with the understanding that he was going to deal with the Anna issue once and for all. But there they were, more than a month later, and nothing was different.

She breathed deeply, the salt air bringing her no sense of calm. She needed to know if he really still wanted the future they had been planning together. The assurances he had given her during their trip had been good enough for her at the time, but now they were beginning to sound like empty promises. She needed something more concrete than words. She needed actions.

Her phone rang in her purse again, for the eighth time, and she summoned every bit of strength to ignore it. She needed to know what her game plan was before she could talk to Luke about all of this.

Another twenty minutes were spent sitting motionless on the beach as the tide moved in and began nipping at her toes. Finally, she pulled herself up off the rocky shore, wiped the sand and dirt from her clothes, grabbed her purse, and headed back to her car. 

**XXXX**

Lorelai rushed into the diner, sheer determination propelling her forward. She nearly bowled Luke over.

“There you are, I’ve been trying to call you,” Luke said. He quickly took stock of her demeanor and put his hands on her arms to steady her. “What’s wrong?”

“Let’s elope,” Lorelai said, no preamble.

“What?”

“Let’s go Luke. Let’s elope. You said it would be ok, let’s just do it.”

“Lorelai…”

“Let’s go. It’s time!”

“Will you just calm down and tell me what’s wrong?”

“We can’t wait anymore. We’ve waited too long.”

“I don’t understand what’s happening here,” he said, trying to catch up. He spared a glance around the diner and took note of his patrons watching their exchange closely. “Here, let’s step outside and talk about this,” he said, leading her out the door.

“I don’t want to talk anymore, Luke. I want to jump. It’s time to jump!” she exclaimed as they landed on the sidewalk in front of the diner.

“I can’t just jump, Lorelai. I have April to consider. You know what’s going on there.”

“I know, and that’s why we need to do this,” she pressured. “If we get married then we can finally move on from this ridiculous place where you’re leading a whole life separate from me, separate from _us_ ,” she cried.

“What are you talking about?”

“I went to Anna, and she said that if we were married…”

“You talked to Anna?” he cut her off.

“Yes, I went to see her. I needed to…”

“You weren’t supposed to do that. You can’t do that!” he exclaimed, panic rising in his chest.

“I had to!” she said, firmly. “I had to do something, because you weren’t doing _anything._ How long were we supposed to let her dictate our lives? Until the baby comes? What then, Luke? Is April allowed to know her sister?”

“Of course she is,” Luke tried to cut in.

“She’s forcing a wedge between us, Luke. Don’t you see that? She’s trying to lay down terms. Terms that affect _our relationship_ , and it’s not right! It’s not okay.”

“And so your solution is to run away and get married?” he questioned.

“My solution is to actually do something about this. If we’re married then we’re a team. She can’t tell you to keep your daughter away from your wife,” she explained frantically. Luke’s hands flew to his head as the sharp sting of a headache began to work its way through is cranium.

“I don’t know what to do here,” he admitted. Lorelai let a small sob escape.

“I love you, Luke. I love you,” she pled through tears. “Don’t you love me?” His eyes shot up.

“You know I do.”

“Then what are we waiting for? I asked you to marry me and you said yes! So why are we still waiting?”

“I thought we were doing the right thing,” he said, shaking his head, trying to catch up.

“What’s right about this?” she questioned, wiping frantically at her tears with her sleeve. Luke could feel his heart breaking as he watched her struggle to keep it together, her hands wrapping protectively around her stomach as if it were a lifeline. Finally he broke.

“It’s not right,” he said softly. She forced her eyes up to look at his, another quiet sob forcing its way up from her chest. “Lorelai. I love you. I said yes because I want to marry you, and I’m going to. Okay? I’m going to.”

She shook her head. “I need you to do it now, Luke.” He nodded his understanding.

“Then we’ll go. We’ll go back to Martha’s Vineyard, or Vegas, or wherever you want, and we’ll do it.”

Lorelai looked up at him, eyes wide, mouth agape.

“Are you serious?” she asked. He moved into her, wrapping his arms tightly around her, her hands not moving from her protruding belly.

“I love you, Lorelai,” he whispered in her ear, feeling her tears soak through his shirt. He blinked back his own tears that threatened to fall from his eyes, unbidden, and pulled back, drawing her hands away from her belly to hold them in his.

“I’ve let this all get away from me,” he admitted. “I’ve made a million mistakes. But the biggest one was letting you think even for a second that I don’t love you with everything I have.” Lorelai blinked up at him.

“So what happens now?” she asked.

“Now, let’s get our girls, and go get married,” he said plainly.

“Our girls?” she asked, trying to catch up.

“We can’t get married without Rory and April.”

“We can wait,” she offered timidly. He shook his head decisively.

“No. No more waiting. It’s time.”

With that, he put his arm around her shoulder and led her back into the diner, and up to his apartment where they began to make their plans.

**XXXX**

Lorelai sat with Luke on the couch in his apartment, trying desperately to tamp down the butterflies in her stomach. She had done it. She had said what she needed to say, and he had agreed with her. They were going to get married. They were going to elope – soon. It all seemed so impossible.

She felt Luke squeeze her hand, a gentle reassurance that this was real. The butterflies were not going to carry her away. She was here. She was grounded. She was with him – really _with him._

“So,” he broached, timidly. “We have a wedding to plan.” Lorelai smiled then. Hearing him say the words, seeing no apprehension in his eyes, she finally felt like they were on the same page.

“Yes,” she agreed. “So what do we do now?” Luke shrugged.

“I guess we pick a place and a time and make it happen.” Lorelai laughed lightly at that.

“It’s just that easy, huh?”

“It can be.”

Lorelai took a steadying breath, squeezing his hand back.

“Where do we start?”

“Well, when do we want to do this?” he asked.

“As soon as possible,” she said, looking him directly in the eyes. He nodded exaggeratedly.

“Yes, yes, I know. But when? Tomorrow? This weekend? Next?”

“I don’t know. When do you think?”

“I have April next weekend. We could call and see if Rory can take some time off, drive up the coast,” he offered. Lorelai smiled.

“That would be good,” she agreed. But then she remembered something. “Oh, but Sookie needs to be there too. I can’t leave her out.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess,” Luke agreed. “And if Sookie is coming then so is Jackson, and the kids too, probably.”

“Yeah, and Michel,” Lorelai said. Less excitedly, she added, “And I think we would hear about it forever if we got married without my parents, especially since we let them pay for the renovation.” Luke nodded slowly, taking it in.

“Well, I mean, if your parents are there, I probably need to invite Liz, TJ and Jess. And Maisy and Buddy, too.”

“Right, right.”

They sat quietly for a moment, mulling over their expanding guest list. Luke broke the silence.

“You know, Lorelai, if all of those people are invited, we’re not really eloping anymore. We’re just having a wedding.” Lorelai sighed, dropping her head into her hands.

“I know,” she ground out. She peeked up at him. “I didn’t think this through.” Luke huffed a small laugh and put his hand on her back, rubbing in small circles. After a moment, he spoke again.

“You know, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” he said. “I mean, isn’t that what you wanted anyway? A real wedding?”

“Well, yes. But this is supposed to happen soon,” she argued. “Something like that would take time to organize.”

Luke shook his head, excited as an idea began to take shape in his head.

“It doesn’t have to. We could do it here,” he suggested. Lorelai looked up at him, skeptically.

“Here? Like in the diner?” she question. He laughed and shook his head.

“No, here, in Stars Hollow,” he clarified. “We’ll get married at the Inn. Bust out the chuppah, call up Reverend Skinner, put out a few chairs for our guests and be done with it.”

“But if we’re doing it in Stars Hollow then the town will expect to be there,” she reminded him.

“So we’ll tell Patty and Babette to spread the word. Tell them it’s standing room only for whoever wants to come. Then, afterwards, we’ll have a party in the square. A potluck, everybody can bring something,” Luke said, shifting excitedly toward Lorelai as he fleshed out the plan. Lorelai perked up a little at this.

“You think they’d go for it?” Luke fixed her with a good-natured glare. She laughed lightly, “Right, stupid question.”

“Lorelai, I know this isn’t the wedding you had planned, but doesn’t this feel like this is how it should be? Getting married here at home, surrounded by our friends and family?” She smiled and nodded.

“You’re right. It sounds perfect.”

“So?” he posed the question. “Decided?”

She gave a decisive nod. “Decided.”

“So next Saturday then. What’s the date?” Luke pondered aloud, jumping up from the couch and wandering over to the calendar on his fridge.

Lorelai watched him walk away, remembering the date before he could read it out.

“It’s June 3rd,” she said in a breath.

“June 3rd,” he confirmed. He turned around and gave her a small smile, which she returned, a little teary-eyed.

“You sure you don’t believe in signs?” she asked. Luke grinned.

“Maybe I should give it a second thought.” She offered him a radiant smile and got up from the couch, walking in his direction.

“Luke,” she said as she approached.

“What?” He wrapped his arms around her as she found her place in front of him, leaning over her pregnant belly to be closer.

“Kiss me.”

**XXXX**

Luke and Lorelai laid in bed wrapped up in each other. With the exception of their trip to Martha’s Vineyard, for months their lovemaking had been perfunctory; an itch to be scratched. But tonight, it was slow and passionate. Lorelai reveled in his hands on her body, her skin catching fire as he touched every part of her with a gentle insistence.

When they reached their crescendo, Lorelai fought for air, her whole body shaking as Luke brought her up. She felt him fill her before pulling her onto her side along with him as they both breathed heavily, faces inches apart, eyes heavy, but locked on each other.

Luke kissed her softly then, almost imperceptibly, leaving her longing for more.

“I love you, Lorelai” he said softly. She thought she could hear the barest crack in his voice as he said it. His gaze bore into her own with intensity. “Please don’t ever doubt that.”

“I won’t. I promise,” she whispered, a small tear escaping her eye.

“You okay?” he asked worriedly, wiping the tear away from her cheek. She nodded, a smile playing on her lips. She didn’t know why she was crying; she just knew that she didn’t feel sad. So many emotions were swirling around inside of her, but they were good ones. Joy. Contentment. Excitement. An unparalleled sense of being whole.

“I’m perfect.” She snuggled into him, her head on his chest, grounding herself in the steady beating of his heart. Somewhere outside a dog barked and a car alarm began to cry out. But here, inside Luke’s bed in his apartment, she heard none of it. Just the steady beating of his heart.

**XXXX**

Lorelai eased into wakefulness as the sun began to shine through the partially closed blinds. She could feel the warmth as ribbons of it raked across the foot of the bed and over her toes. She sunk back into the solid wall behind her, reveling in Luke’s body, his breath steady against her neck, his hand draped protectively over her stomach.

She breathed deeply, the unmistakable smell of _him_ surrounding her.

It had been a long time since she had woken up with a smile on her face, but this morning she couldn’t seem to wipe it off. It was a permanent fixture.

She felt Luke stir behind her, shifting closer, his lips beginning to play on her upper back. She leaned back into the feeling, her body awakening as his hand moved from the safety of her stomach and began to roam her body.

Lorelai rocked back against him and Luke shifted onto his elbow to kiss his way up her back and to the side of her neck. Lorelai lolled her head to the side, granting him access.

It was a slow burn as the couple shifted slightly, Lorelai making room for him and Luke slipping into her heat from behind. He held her close as they moved together, his hands on her body, feeling every part of her.

It could have been minutes, or hours later when the pair finally pulled themselves out of bed, sated, but exhilarated. Kisses had been had, love was made, and they both knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the night before had been real. They were getting married in little more than a week, on June 3rd. This was it for them – now or never.

Luke made his way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast while she showered away the remnants of their lovemaking. 

Lorelai emerged from the bathroom, breathing in deeply the heady scent of Luke’s coffee enticing her into the kitchen. She sat at the table and sipped the hot liquid, feeling like she was finally rejoining the real world.

Luke put two plates of food on the table and sat down across from her, taking a sip of his orange juice.

“Some night,” he said, a smile playing on his lips. Lorelai grinned.

“One for the books,” she agreed. “We should probably call Rory and April soon. You know, get in there before they make their own plans for next weekend.”

“I think they would cancel their plans for us,” Luke teased. Lorelai took another sip of her coffee.

“What do we tell them? I mean, how much do we tell them?” she asked. Luke bit down on the inside of his cheek, thinking through all of the connotations of that question.

“April doesn’t need the details,” he finally said. “Rory, well… how much does she know?”

“Most of it,” Lorelai confessed. Luke looked down at his plate, disappointed. “She’s my sounding board, you know? We’ve always been there for each other.” He nodded.

“Yeah, I know. I just don’t want her to think less of me.”

“She doesn’t,” Lorelai countered quickly. He eyed her skeptically. “Really. She knows you, Luke. She knows your heart.” He sighed, sadly.

“I just can’t believe I let it all get so out of hand,” he said softly. Lorelai reached across the table, putting her hand on his.

“Hey, that’s enough. No more of this. We talked, we’re moving on, we’re getting married. No regrets,” she urged.

“I have some regrets,” he admitted. She frowned.

“Luke, I just want to be happy now,” she said softly. He took a deep steadying breath and offered her a small smile.

“I know. I am. We are,” he assured her. “Let’s eat and we’ll give the girls a call.”

With another reassuring squeeze of her hand, Luke returned to his breakfast. Lorelai watched him for a moment before doing the same.

It wasn’t all gone: the hurt, the frustration. But she didn’t want to dwell on it anymore. They had said what needed saying and now they were moving forward. That had to be enough.

  
  



	7. Under the Chuppah

**Chapter 7: Under the Chuppah**

Lorelai stood in their bedroom, closely regarding the blush gown draped over her dress form. She had just measured the circumference of her belly and was in the process of trying to mimic her baby bump with rolled up towels duct-taped to the figure.

The dress still fit beautifully in the bust, but she was disturbed when Rory had tried to do up the zipper the night before only to have it get stuck at the very bottom.

When she had bought the dress all those months ago, she thought the empire waist was a no-brainer. How big could she possibly get in five months?

She sighed and draped a hand over her belly.

“You’re going to be hearing about this for the rest of your life, little girl,” she said out loud. The sound of her voice was met with a firm kick against her hand. “Oh no, don’t try to make it up to me now!”

The baby continued to move inside of her. She grinned and returned her attention to the gown.

There was a good amount of extra room in the seams for Lorelai to play with, so she figured it shouldn’t be too much of a problem to let the skirt out. She didn’t want to feel like she was trying to fit a watermelon in a sausage casing.

She let her mind wander back to the week before, that night with Luke and the way he had held her, and the things he had whispered in her ear as he made love to her. He had always made her feel beautiful, even when she was feeling less than her best. As her belly grew, so did her insecurities, but he wouldn’t hear it. He told her she was sexy and gorgeous and perfect, and the way he gave himself to her so fully and with such adoration in his eyes made her believe it to be true.

Shaking her head, she pulled the dress off the form and got to the task of delicately cutting the seams down the sides of the skirt so she could begin piecing it all back together.

The week since they decided to have the wedding on June 3rd had been a flurry of activity. They had called Rory shortly after breakfast that morning, reveling in her daughter’s unadulterated joy and delight. Luke had decided instead of telling April over the phone, he would inform her in person when she arrived on Friday after school. He knew she would be excited, and he wanted to be able to witness it first-hand. Lorelai thought it was sweet that he wanted to surprise her with the news.

Since they were having a small ceremony, they both decided it would make sense to keep the wedding party small. Rory would stand with Lorelai as her Maid of Honour and April would stand with Luke as his Best Man.

Sookie had excitedly offered to make them a cake worthy of royalty, and Jackson was busily picking out his best in-season vegetables to adorn the tables in the town square. Patty and Babette made quick work of informing their fellow townspeople about the nuptials, and East Side Tilly was green with envy that she hadn’t gotten scoop. Even her parents were eagerly getting in the action, putting up the funds for a band to play in the square, and a high end photographer to capture their big day.

With all of their friends working overtime to make it happen, Lorelai was actually beginning to feel confident that the day would go off without a hitch – not that she wanted to jinx them. She just looked around at their incredible community and felt the immense love they had for both of them, Luke as a lifelong resident, and Lorelai as an adopted daughter.

It was shortly after eight when she heard the front door open and close downstairs and Luke’s voice announcing he was home.

“Don’t come up here!” Lorelai shouted down the stairs.

“Why?” he called back up. Lorelai came to stand on the middle landing of the stairs, peering down at him.

“Because I’m working on my dress and it’s bad luck for you to see it before the wedding.” Luke quirked an eyebrow.

“I think we’re past bad luck, aren’t we?” Lorelai’s eyes widened.

“Are you _trying_ to ruin our wedding? Go knock on wood and throw some salt over your shoulder,” she said in a rush. Luke shook his head, amused.

“You get crazier by the day, you know that?”

“Is that any way to talk to a pregnant lady?” she admonished. He laughed.

“It’s how I talk to crazy ladies.” He took a step onto the stairs.

“Nuh, uh, uh,” she said, holding a hand out to him. “Not one more step!” He climbed onto the lower landing. “Luke!”

“What’s gonna happen if I come up there?” he asked.

“It’ll rain on our wedding day. Or a tornado! Is that what you want?”

“Yes, because tornados are so common in Connecticut,” he deadpanned. He laughed at her once again and treaded back to safety in the living room.

“Thank you. God, is it too much to ask that you respect the laws of fate?” she said, finally coming down the stairs to meet him. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a lingering kiss which she greedily accepted.

When they parted, Luke spoke again. “Three days.” Lorelai grinned at that.

“Three days,” she confirmed. “Any second thoughts?” He shook his head firmly.

“I’d have to be an idiot to have second thoughts about you,” he said sweetly. She leaned up and kissed him again, allowing herself to get lost in the feeling of his lips and body against hers. He pulled away a moment too soon for her liking.

“So, am I banished, or do I get to take my fiancée to bed tonight?” he asked, innuendo dripping in his tone. She felt herself flush a little, but then thought back to the dress dismantled on their bed.

“As tempting as that is, I have a stupid amount of work to do on the dress. I really need to focus on that tonight.” Luke frowned.

“So you’re saying I’m banished,” he said.

“Basically yes,” she confirmed. “But that’s romantic, isn’t it? Spending our last few nights apart before the big day?” Luke eyed her skeptically.

“What’s romantic about not being together?” he questioned.

“You know, the anticipation? Building the desire to be together again?”

“Sounds like a lot of lonely nights,” he groused. She leaned in and kissed him softly again, breaking away all too soon. “See, if you keep doing that, then we’re gonna end up doing it _on_ the dress, and what would the fates say about that?” he joked. She smiled.

“How about we just order in some dinner, and you can start thinking about all the ways you want to have me on Saturday night?” she suggested, a gleam in her eye. He gave her a look as if he was in physical pain.

“Not fair,” he sulked, but he allowed her to pull herself out of his arms, heading for the phone to order supper. As she dialed the number of the pizza place, Luke edged past her into the kitchen to pull a beer from the fridge.

She joined him at the table when she was done with the call.

“So did you get everything on your list done today?” she asked, twisting open the bottle of water he had taken out for her.

“Yup,” he confirmed. “Picked up my suit, picked up the rings, confirmed with Reverend Skinner, reminded Jackson that red peppers are _not_ to be included in the centerpieces because you can’t stand the smell of them anymore, and reattached the goat to the chuppah for the fourth time,” he listed.

“Gilbert just wants to be free,” Lorelai joked.

“How about you?” he asked.

“Yes. Talked to the photographer, picked up dresses for Rory and April, put in the flower order, picked up the marriage certificate, and convinced Kirk not to debut his new pop and lock routine during the reception.”

“What’s left to get done?” he asked. Lorelai reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a piece of paper that was obviously beginning to see some wear and tear.

“Finish my dress alterations, buy flat shoes because my feet are too swollen for the ones I bought five months ago, get Tom to fix the loose board on the front steps of the Inn so I don’t go ass-over-tea-kettle walking down the aisle, taste test cakes with Sookie, deliver the chuppah to the Inn, and write our vows.”

“I’ve already finished mine,” Luke said casually.

“You have?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he confirmed.

“No creepy vows. We agreed, no creepy vows.” He laughed.

“They’re not creepy, I promise,” he assured her. She eyed him skeptically for a moment before accepting his answer.

“I can’t believe you’re already done. I don’t even know where to start.”

“It’ll come to you eventually,” he assured her.

“Just like that, huh?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“Did your vows just ‘come to you’?” she asked. He nodded.

“Pretty much.”

“Well, can I read them? See what I’m up against?”

“Not a chance,” he said firmly. She pouted.

“Fine. But if your vows are awesome and mine stink, I’m holding you personally responsible.”

“Fine by me,” he said, taking a long pull from his beer. He watched her as she looked back down at the list in her hand. “We’re almost there, Lorelai. It’ll all get done.” She nodded.

“I know. I just can’t believe it’s really happening.” He reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

“Believe it.”

**XXXX**

Lorelai was home on Friday afternoon, waiting eagerly for Luke to come by with April. It was the first time the girl would be stepping foot into their home, and she found herself feeling a little nervous, wanting to make sure everything was just right.

Luke had promised that he wouldn’t tell April the news until they were home so Lorelai could share the moment with them. She smiled at that, loving the feeling of finally being included in their relationship.

She peeked out the living room window when she heard the truck pull into the driveway and moved to open the door to greet them.

“Hey kiddo!” she exclaimed as April made her way up the front steps. “Welcome to the Crap Shack,” she greeted warmly.

“The Crap Shack?” April questioned looking around at the house confusedly.

“I thought you weren’t going to call it that anymore,” Luke grumbled, following April up onto the porch with her bag slung over his shoulder.

“Old habits die hard,” Lorelai said. She moved aside and gestured for the pair to enter. “Well, come in, come in!”

“You have a really pretty house,” April commented as she came to stand in the living room. “Classic colonial with hints of Spanish influence, and eclectic whimsy,” she deduced. Lorelai and Luke shared an amused look.

“Sounds like you hit all the high points,” Lorelai said.

“I’ve been researching architecture. I plan to work in science and technology, but I figured it was good to have a fallback.”

“Well, that’s very prudent,” Lorelai allowed.

“So, uh, April,” Luke interjected. “Lorelai and I actually have something to tell you.” Lorelai felt butterflies start flittering in her stomach.

“Well, I already know she’s pregnant, so I think the cat’s out of the bag if that’s your news,” April joked. The pair laughed, a little nervously.

“Actually, well, you know we’re engaged,” Luke started.

“Yes, the ring was a tip off.”

“Right,” Luke laughed. “We’re actually going to get married.”

“That’s normally what happens when two people get engaged,” April said. Luke continued to stutter over his words for a moment before turning to Lorelai.

“Do you want to tell her?” he asked. She laughed and turned to the teenage girl.

“We’re getting married this weekend, April. Tomorrow, actually,” she finally said. April’s eyes widened.

“Oh my god!” she exclaimed. “This is so exciting! I’ve never been to a wedding before!”

“Well then I guess you’ve never been _in_ a wedding either,” Lorelai prompted. April gasped in delight.

“You want me to be _in the wedding_?” Luke let out a breath, relieved at her excitement.

“Yeah, I thought you could stand up there with me. Be my Best Man,” he offered. “Or, Best Girl,” he corrected himself. He was caught off-guard when April rushed him, wrapping her arms tightly around his middle. “Can I take that as a yes?”

April jumped a little in his arms, looking up at him. “This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me!” she exclaimed. Luke and Lorelai shared a smile and looked back down at the girl who was beaming in her father’s arms.

“Well good, then, it’s settled,” he said. April jumped back, as if remembering something.

“But wait, the wedding is tomorrow? I didn’t bring anything to wear that’s even remotely appropriate for that kind of event.” Lorelai put her hands up to calm the girl.

“Not to worry, we’ve got it taken care of. You want to see your dress?” April began jumping and squealing again. “I’ll take that as a yes. Come on upstairs, kiddo,” she offered, letting the girl run ahead of her. Luke followed her up to the second floor landing, but then Lorelai put her hand out to stop him. “Strictly girl time, Daddy.”

“Oh come on,” he grumbled. April had disappeared into the master bedroom, so Lorelai stepped back to him, speaking in hushed tones.

“I’ll let you do the next reveal, okay?” she offered. Luke smiled at that, remembering the last surprise they had for his daughter.

“Deal,” he agreed. He proceeded to climb the next set of stairs up to the new third floor to wait his turn.

Lorelai grinned at his retreating form before heading into the bedroom where April was waiting.

“You ready?” Lorelai asked. April nodded excitedly and Lorelai ducked into the closet, retrieving a garment bag and bringing it out to the bed. She unzipped it so April could see the soft-pink floral material of the dress for the first time. It was the same material that made up Rory’s more adult look with spaghetti straps and a natural waist.

“It’s so pretty,” April said, awed. She pulled the dress out the bag and held it out in front of her to examine it more fully. It was a tea-length sundress with a scoop neck and cap sleeves. It looked bright, and comfortable, and summerlike. She smiled at the dress and then back to Lorelai. “Can I try it on?”

“Absolutely! Bathroom’s over there,” Lorelai said, pointing to the ensuite. April disappeared for a few moments, coming back out with the dress hanging limply off of her.

“Can you zip me up?” she asked. Lorelai rounded the girl and pulled the zipper to the top, clasping a small button at the nape of her neck. She steered April toward her full-length mirror so she could get the full effect.

“It fits like a glove,” Lorelai said, smiling at the girl’s reflection.

April swished a little, as if trying out the dress. She stepped a little closer to the mirror, and Lorelai held her breath, waiting for the girl’s assessment. Finally, she broke out in a wide smile. “I’ve never worn a dress like this before. I guess I can’t catch bugs in it.” Lorelai laughed at that.

“Hey, if you can’t catch bugs in it, it’s not worth wearing. Just wait until after the ceremony,” she said. April bounced a little on her feet before turning to face Lorelai and wrapping her arms around her, not making it all the way around as the belly interfered.

“I can’t wait for tomorrow,” she said, looking up at Lorelai.

“Neither can I, kid.” She wrapped her arms around April and held her for a moment, reeling from how natural it felt. She was Luke’s kid. She was going to be her stepdaughter. Her family was finally coming together.

“Hey,” April asked, pulling away. “Where did my Dad go?” Lorelai suddenly remembered the second part of the surprise.

“Oh, I think he went upstairs. Why don’t you go find him?” she suggested.

“I can’t wait to show him my dress!” she exclaimed, running for the door. Lorelai laughed gently at her retreating form. She couldn’t wait to make this girl officially hers.

Luke was waiting at the top of the stairs when he heard April coming up.

“Wow! Look at you,” he exclaimed. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she said, a little blush rising to her cheeks. She looked around at the third floor, noting the unprimed drywall and unfinished floors. “Where are we?” she asked. Luke put his arm around her and led her further into the new hallway.

“We’re in an addition. We needed some more room,” he explained.

“Ah,” she looked around, as if taking stock of what needed to be done. “So what are we doing up here?”

“Well, I wanted to show you something that I think you’re gonna like.” He gestured for one of the three doorways along the wall in front of them and April led the way into the space.

It wasn’t a huge room. The walls, like the hallway, were unfinished, as were the floors. There was a closet without doors to her left, and a doorway to a bathroom on her right.

“What is this?” she asked.

“It’s your room,” Luke said simply. April’s eyes shot up to his.

“You built me a room?” April asked.

“Well, technically Tom built you a room. But yeah, we thought you might want somewhere to sleep when you’re here. Your own space,” Luke said with a hint of amusement. He watched as April took in the space, a smile growing on her lips. “Do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it!” she exclaimed. “I mean, it’s a little plain, but I assume there will be floors eventually,” she said. Luke laughed.

“Yes, floors are coming soon, and doors. And paint, which I thought you might like to pick out yourself.”

“Seriously?” the girl asked, excitedly. Luke laughed at her unadulterated joy at the prospect.

“There’s a paint deck in the living room. Why don’t you go take a look?” he suggested.

April squealed in delight for before racing for the stairs, bypassing Lorelai on her way up, saying something about needing to find the perfect shade of “cerulean”.

Lorelai made her way to the bedroom where Luke was left behind.

“I take it that went well?” she said, entering the room. Luke laughed and held his arm out, inviting her to tuck herself into his side.

“She’s excited. About all of it,” he said. Lorelai tipped her head up, and he leaned down, meeting her in a gentle kiss. The pair stepped out of the room and looked around at the newly-added third floor, which included two bedrooms connected by a Jack-and-Jill bathroom, and a much-needed storage space.

They wandered into the room down the hall from April’s and regarded the space. A few paint swatches were taped to the wall, running the gamut from blush pink to pale yellow, with an array of neutral grays and whites that they had been pondering over.

“I get to have it all,” Lorelai said in a breath. Luke looked down at her, her hands on her belly, standing in their baby’s room, while his daughter wore her dress for their wedding and poked through paint colours in their living room.

“We get to have it all,” he corrected her gently. She looked up at him, the faintest hint of tears brimming in her eyes. She didn’t say anything, she just sunk into his side and looked around their baby’s room.

Just one day to go.

**XXXX**

Luke had woken up early on the morning of their wedding day, and slipped out of bed quietly leaving Lorelai to sleep. After their first night of sleeping apart, they both agreed it was a pointless endeavour. They slept better next to each other. It gave them a sense of calm and comfort. There was no point messing with the system.

The sun was still low in the sky when Luke tiptoed down the stairs. April was still slumbering peacefully in Rory’s old room, but he knew they would all be waking up in short order. Rory and Sookie would be arriving early to get started on their wedding primping, and Luke expected to be banished as soon as that started.

He carefully closed April’s door so as not to disturb her as he got started working in the kitchen. He wanted to surprise everyone with a hearty breakfast, knowing it would be a busy day with little time to focus on something as basic as sustenance.

Lorelai woke up a while later. She realized Luke was gone for the first time when she flopped a hand over in his direction and came up with nothing more than empty sheets. She opened one eye and looked around the room, finding it similarly empty.

In the distance she could hear sizzling, and a deep breath brought the intoxicating aroma of bacon mixed with coffee. By far, this was the best way to wake up. She gingerly pushed herself up – a task that was becoming more and more challenging as the beach ball under her pajamas grew larger. She tucked her toes into her slippers and pulled on her housecoat before padding out of the room and down the stairs.

The scene that greeted her in the kitchen made her smile. Luke was busy at work over the stove, glasses of orange juice and place settings were out on the table, and Paul Anka was eagerly chowing down on his own breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage.

“Morning,” Luke greeted with a smile. Lorelai made her way to his side and gave him a quick kiss before looking around the room.

“What’s all this?” she asked.

“I just figured I’d made sure you girls eat a good breakfast before I’m banished from the premises,” he said, jokingly.

“It smells amazing,” she complimented, taking her seat at the table. Luke stopped his work at the stove long enough to pour her a mug of freshly brewed coffee. She breathed it in deeply and took a sip. “Ugh, this is perfect. Hey, will you marry me today?” she asked with a bright smile.

“Sorry, got plans,” he teased.

“How can you be so mean to me on this, the day of our wedding?” Lorelai shot back. He chuckled and returned to his work on the stove.

“Sorry. Let me make it up to you with pancakes.” He scooped up two of the aforementioned pastries onto his spatula and brought them to her plate at the table. Lorelai smiled up at him as he did so.

“I can’t believe it’s finally happening,” she said.

“Neither can I,” he agreed, meeting her gaze with a soft one of his own. The moment was interrupted by the bedroom door opening and a disheveled April stepping out. She looked blankly around the room, barely seeming to register the scene, before plodding tiredly to the bathroom.

“I was just getting used to having a kid. Now all of a sudden, I have a teenager,” Luke joked once she was out of earshot. He and Lorelai shared a laugh, before he returned to finish up the cooking, and Lorelai to her breakfast.

A few moments later, they heard Rory’s car pull into the driveway.

“I guess that’s my cue,” Luke said. He pulled the rest of the food off the stove, all cooked to perfection, and went about putting it on a platter before leaning down and giving Lorelai a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks for breakfast, Doll. I’ll see you under the chuppah,” she said.

“I’ll be the guy in the suit,” he confirmed with a wink, before finally making his exit.

**XXXX**

After leaving the house, Luke headed for the Dragonfly. His one and only official task that morning was to get the chuppah to the Inn, but he figured he would poke around and try to make himself useful setting up the ceremony space out by the stables. He was feeling a little superfluous, knowing the girls would be busy getting ready all morning, and all he had to do was shower, shave and throw on a suit.

The wedding ceremony was set to take place shortly before noon, followed by lunch and a party in the square. It seemed liked everyone in town had gotten in on planning the reception. When Luke drove past the square on his way to the Inn, there were already several people milling around, setting up tables, putting together decorations, and preparing the bandstand in the gazebo. Even though it was still early, the town was full of activity.

Luke didn’t always give the people of Stars Hollow a lot of credit. He knew they always meant well, but he never got the decorating, and fairs, and fundraisers, and town meetings, and general group insanity that went along with being part of this community. But today as he watched his friends and neighbours work to prepare for a wedding they weren’t even officially _invited_ to, he couldn’t help but feel like he had been selling them short. This was a great town full of great people, and he was lucky to be a part of it.

Luke pulled up to Inn after a short drive. He enlisted a couple Dragonfly staffers to help him unload the chuppah and place it in front of the stables. After that job was done, he joined the team in bringing out the chairs and setting up a location for Drella, the harpist to play.

Once that was done, he double-checked Tom’s handiwork on the deck boards, making sure they were properly secured.

He thought about helping adorn the chuppah and chairs with the floral arrangements Lorelai had picked out, but he decided he could only do more harm than good in the department, and opted to leave it to the professionals.

Finally content that his work there was done, he returned to his truck and headed for the diner.

Three more hours to go.

**XXXX**

It was 11:26 and Lorelai was taking one last look in the mirror. Her dress fit perfectly, as it hugged her bust and flowed away from her body underneath, slipping into an elegant train at the back. Her hair fell over her shoulders in loose curls. Her jewelry was understated, consisting of the pieces that Luke had given her from his sister’s shop when they had first started dating. Her makeup was subtle, but it played in tune with the blush of her dress to give her a floral glow that she was, all things considered, quite happy with.

She peered at the clock next to the bed in the room she and the girls had commandeered when they got to the Dragonfly half an hour earlier. Just a few minutes left to gather herself, tamp down on the butterflies in her stomach, and make sure she was going to make it down the stairs in one piece.

Rory, April and Sookie had just left the room a moment earlier. Sookie was taking April to meet her dad at the chuppah outside, and Rory was going to wait in the lobby with Emily and Logan for the ceremony to start. Logan had been given the task of escorting Emily to her seat.

Lorelai heard a brief knock before the door creaked open.

“May I come in?” she heard the baritone of her father’s voice before she saw him.

“Yeah, come in Dad,” she allowed. Richard closed the door behind him before appraising his daughter.

“You look lovely, my dear,” he said adoringly. She smiled.

“Thank you.” Richard watched her for a long moment, and Lorelai could see many emotions pass over his face as he considered what to say next.

“I want you to know that I’m very proud of you, Lorelai,” he finally said. “What you’ve built here, your life, your business, your family… it’s remarkable.” Lorelai felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them back, lest they disturb her make-up.

“Thanks, Dad.” He offered her a smile and held his arm out.

“Shall we?” She nodded and took his arm as he led her for the door.

“Just don’t let me fall, okay?” He laughed at that.

“How about we hold each other up,” he suggested.

“Deal.”

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they were greeted by Emily, Logan and Rory. Outside they could hear the harpist begin to play.

“I guess it’s time,” Lorelai said.

“Only if you’re ready,” Rory said. Lorelai took a deep breath and steeled herself.

“I’m ready.”

Lorelai and Richard stood back as Logan and Emily headed out first, follow a moment later by Rory. Finally, they heard the music change, and it was their turn to go.

Upon stepping out the door, Lorelai looked around and her breath caught in her throat.

She could see their invited guests sitting in their seats up front – Emily, Logan, Sookie, Jackson and the kids, Lane, Zach and Michel on her side; Liz, T.J. and Jess, Maisy and Buddy, Caesar, Patty and Babette on Luke’s. But as she looked around, there were so many more faces to take in. A sea of townspeople gathered on either side of the aisle smiling at her, waiting for her to pass by.

Without a seat, invited only by word-of-mouth, they were all there. She allowed herself a moment to feel overwhelmed by their love, knowing that they were there to support her and Luke in this perfect moment.

She let Richard lead her down the front steps of the Inn to where the crowd parted. She looked up the aisle and saw Luke standing right where he belonged, under the chuppah, waiting for her to join him. He looked handsome, with his black suit and tie, his hair slicked back, his face neatly shaven. Lorelai caught his eye as she and Richard made the walk up the aisle, sharing his adoring smile, and feeling all of her nerves fall away.

She joined Luke at the front, flanked by their daughters, and took his hands in hers.

It was finally time.

The ceremony moved quickly after that. Reverend Skinner offered the usual words of wisdom uttered at weddings, leading them through the process. Finally, he told them it was time for their vows. Lorelai had insisted she go first, if only so she could get hers out before the blubbering started.

She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and met Luke’s eyes as she began to speak.

“Luke, you have been a constant and steady force in my life since the day we met. You have been someone I could call on when I was sad or lonely, or if my roof sprung a leak. There were days when I felt my whole world was falling apart, and then you were there, and suddenly I was on solid ground again.

For years people told me we were more than just friends, and I shrugged them off because I was afraid. Afraid that loving you would mean losing my friend, my confidant, my constant. Now I know that being with you makes me feel safer and more loved than ever.

Before we got together, I often found myself wondering why you put up with me. I know now that it’s because we have always been in this relationship, even before we said the words. You were always my partner. I was always yours. And now, we always will be.

I just want you to know that I’m in, Luke. I’m all in.”

She watched as Luke took a moment, however brief, to compose himself, clearly affected by her words. Reverend Skinner prompted him to take his turn, and he swallowed deeply before doing so.

“You asked me a few days ago if my vows just came to me. To tell you the truth, I’ve been writing these vows in my head for the last two years,” he began.

“I was laying in my tent at a Renaissance Fair, of all places, and I was thinking about you. The way you come into my diner and the world stops turning. The way you make me laugh when no one else can. They way I want to talk to you about things I’ve never shared with anybody else. The way you can make me do crazy things, like build you an ice rink, or a chuppah.

I had only kissed you once, but I had known for years that I wanted marry you.

Now that we’re here, and we’re starting our life and our family together, all I can think of is that night in my tent, knowing that my whole life was ahead of me, and being so excited to finally start living it.

I may not get it right all the time, and I may not always have the words to express how I feel about you. But I need you to know that I love you, and that I intend to love you for the rest of our lives.

I’m all in, Lorelai. I’m all in.”

Lorelai was glad in that moment that she had gone first. As tears threatened to spill over, she found herself struggling to catch her breath. His love for her was so deep, and so abiding. She didn’t know how she could have ever doubted him. He loved her. He would _always_ love her. This, she knew for certain.

She forced herself to refocus as Reverend Skinner began to speak again, leading them in the traditional vows, and asking them the all-important question.

“I do,” they both finally said, before sliding rings onto each other’s fingers.

Lorelai vaguely heard the Reverend tell Luke to kiss his bride before she felt his lips on hers. It felt like a release, kissing him now, like this. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him as close as she could, reveling in the moment that they had both waited so long for. 

When they parted, Luke kept her close and looked down at her, his eyes soft. The Reverend announced them to the crowd, “Mr. Luke Danes and Mrs. Lorelai Gilmore,” and they made their way back down the aisle as their friends and family cheered them on.

Lorelai didn’t hear a word of it. All she knew was that her hand was in Luke’s, and they were married, and in this moment, nothing else mattered.


	8. Finding His Voice

**Chapter 8: Finding His Voice**

It was Sunday evening, and Luke was still riding high from the previous day’s events. The wedding had been perfect, the reception was a hit, and he was finally – _finally_ – married to Lorelai. It was surreal, and exciting, and exhilarating. He felt like it was all coming together for them.

He had left their place shortly after dinner to head back to his apartment to pack up a few more of his belongings. Between the new storage space on the third floor and his newly-minted workshop in the garage, the house finally had enough space for him to bring over his fishing gear, his dad’s books, and even his singing bass (which he promised to keep in the garage so Lorelai didn’t have to look at it).

He had just finished up and was giving the barren apartment a second look over when the phone rang.

“Hello?”

 _“You are unbelievable!”_ The words came out in a rush.

“What? Who is this?” Luke asked, trying to catch up.

 _“We talked about this, Luke. We talked about this and you went behind my back!”_ the voice came again.

“Anna?” he questioned.

 _“April came home today raving about a wedding. A wedding that I didn’t even know was happening. And not just a wedding that she attended, a wedding that she stood in as the_ **Best Man** _. Are you kidding me?”_ Luke shook his head.

“Okay, you gotta slow down and catch me up here,” he attempted.

 _“And then, to top it all off, she starts going on about paint samples for her new bedroom at_ **Lorelai’s house _!_** _”_ Luke sighed deeply.

“Well, she’s my daughter, Anna. She’s going to be staying with me from time to time, and so I thought it was reasonable that she should have her own bedroom when she does that,” he said, matter-of-factly.

_“You do not get to do this, Luke. You do not get to move_ **my daughter** _into some other woman’s house without telling me.”_

“I was going to tell you,” he attempted. “But I figured you would put two and two together, considering Lorelai’s my _wife,_ and married couples usually do live together.” Try as he might, he couldn’t quite keep the sarcasm out of his tone.

_“We had an agreement. You promised you wouldn’t do this without my approval.”_

“No, I promised we would hold off for a while, which we did. For months.”

 _“That wasn’t your call to make,”_ she bit back.

“Like hell it wasn’t,” he exclaimed, finally letting his anger come to the fore. “I don’t know what you’re so mad about anyway. You were the one who told Lorelai that things would be different when we were married.” He heard her huff on the other end.

_“Oh yes, you’re referring to last week when you sicked your pregnant girlfriend on me? That was great, by the way. Really top notch.”_

“I did not ‘sick’ her on you, Anna. I didn’t even know she was going over. But you know what? I’m not going to apologize for that. She went, you told her what needed to happen, and we made it happen. You should be happy about that.”

_“So you thought having a quickie wedding was going to suddenly make me want to send my daughter over to spend time with you? Because that shows such great decision-making skills.”_

“It was not a ‘quickie wedding’. Lorelai and I have been engaged for a long time. June 3rd was always the date,” he told her, figuring a small fib was better than the whole truth.

_“Oh please.”_

“Please what? I’m getting tired of this, Anna. Tired of the mandates, tired of you dictating when I can see my daughter and what I can do when I have her.”

 _“Those are my decisions to make, Luke,”_ she argued.

“They’re not just your decisions, I’m in this too,” he fought back. He waited for her heated reply, but was left with silence for a long moment. He wondered briefly if she had hung up, but he could still hear her on the other end.

Finally, she came back, her tone steady.

 _“You know what? I’m not sure I’m comfortable sending April out to see you anymore,”_ she said.

“What are you talking about?”

 _“April is_ **my daughter** _, Luke. And this_ **is** _my decision.”_

With that, he heard an audible _click_ and the line went dead. Luke felt his heart drop into his stomach.

“No,” he said to himself in a breath, his throat tight, his vision blurring with rage.

She couldn’t do this. Enough was enough.

He abandoned his bags and boxes and made a quick escape from the apartment and the diner, climbing into his truck and gunning it out of Stars Hollow.

Twenty minutes later, he was on Anna’s doorstep, banging insistently on her door. He didn’t come here with any pretense of calm or collected. He was done, this had gone too far, and he wasn’t going to let her push him around anymore.

He saw her face sour as soon as she opened the door.

“What are you doing here, Luke?”

“You're always telling me I can't do this with your daughter and I can't do that with your daughter. Well, she's not just your daughter, Anna. She's my daughter, too,” he ground out.

“Luke…”

“No. No. I know I wasn't around for all those years. But, you know, that was your decision. That was your choice, Anna. And, frankly, it was a damn lousy one. I didn't get to see her born or take her first steps or take her to her first day of school – none of it. And I can never get any of that back. It's gone! But that's not gonna happen anymore. That, I can guarantee you.”

“What are you saying?” she said, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest.

“That she's my kid, all right? She's _our_ kid. She's not just yours. And I'm not gonna let you treat me this way. I'm her father! God, why do I even have to say that? I mean, April and I, we have this relationship, okay? And you can't just decide things. That's not how this works. I mean we have to make decisions together, decisions about April. And I will fight you. I will fight you for that, Anna, if I have to. I have rights. I'm her father, and I have rights.”

He left before she could say another word. He felt like his heart was beating out of his chest as he whipped the truck onto the road to head back home. He was running on pure adrenaline, and for the first time, he felt like he was doing the absolute right thing.

He had been pushing off the custody issue, the _legal_ issue for months while he got to know April, but now he knew that he couldn’t put it off any longer. If Anna wanted to get down in the dirt, he could do it too. She was _not_ going to take his daughter away from him.

**XXXX**

A few days had passed since Luke and Anna’s blow up. He hadn’t talked to April in that time – he figured Anna was screening his calls, but he was surprised that she would actually prevent April from calling him, too. He had gotten used to their nightly chats. It was something he looked forward to.

But ever since that night, it had been radio silence. It only served to strengthen Luke’s resolve to build a custody agreement that guaranteed he and April would have a relationship. With Anna taking such a hard line, he realized this was his only way to be with his daughter, and he needed to do everything he could to make that happen.

It was after 11 PM, and he and Lorelai were sitting up in bed regarding the yellow legal pad he had in his lap. The scene was reminiscent of all those months ago when they were loved up in a cottage at Martha’s Vineyard, going over potential baby names for their unborn child.

That seemed like ages ago to Luke as he re-read the contents of the sheet in front of him for the hundredth time. He was heading to his lawyer’s office the next morning, and had decided to come prepared with a list of his preferred custody agreement so they could formulate a game plan and not waste any time on the details.

“Let’s go over this again,” he said, reading from the list. “I want her Wednesdays after school and every other weekend. I want to split holidays, and have her here for at least a few weeks in the summer. That seems reasonable, right? Fair?”

“I think so,” Lorelai agreed. “I don’t think Anna will though.”

“Well, it’s not up to her. That’s why we’re doing this, so she can’t dictate the terms anymore,” he reminded her.

“I know, I know. And I agree with you, but I don’t want you to set yourself up for disappointment here,” Lorelai said softly. Luke frowned.

“You think that’s what I’m doing?”

“I just think you’ve set your expectations really high. Granted, I don’t know much about the custody system, I never had to go through it with Rory. But I have to think that what Anna wants is going to play pretty heavily into the judge’s decision. She was alone with April for a long time.” Luke bristled at that.

“That wasn’t my choice,” he reminded her, defensively. Lorelai put a hand on his to calm him down.

“I know that. And of course the judge will know that, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to give you what we think is fair.” Luke sighed, letting his hackles back down.

“I just don’t want to sell myself short here. This is a negotiation, right? Isn’t this what you do in a negotiation? Go in high and settle somewhere in the middle?” Lorelai nodded her agreement. “Then that’s what I’m doing. I need to make my expectations known.”

“Well then, I think this list is a really good start,” Lorelai allowed. “It shows that you’re serious about being in April’s life. Serious about being a father.”

“I am,” he said, a little sadly. Lorelai snuggled in a little closer to him and dropped a kiss on his arm.

“I’m sorry you have to do this, Hon,” she said softly.

“I’m sorry we both have to do this, especially now,” he told her. He put a loving hand on her stomach. As if knowing he was there, the baby kicked under his palm. He and Lorelai shared a sad laugh. “At least I’ll get to be a part of this little one’s life,” he said. Lorelai caught his eye.

“I can’t wait for you to have it, Luke,” she told him. “I can’t wait for you to get to hold her, and share all of her firsts. You deserve that.”

“I should have had it the first time,” he said.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “You should have.”

Luke took one last look at the list, before discarding it on his side table and flicking off the lamp. He and Lorelai snuggled down into the bed, her head on his shoulder.

After a long moment, Luke spoke again.

“Do you think I’m gonna be any good at it? The baby thing?” he asked. She tipped her head up to see his face, his eyes glistening in the moonlight.

“Luke, I didn’t get this before, with Rory. I didn’t get the house and the husband and the partner, and I was scared.” She took a moment before continuing on. “I’m not scared now. I have you. I know you love me, and you will love our daughter with your whole heart, and I’m just not worried about what happens next. I know it’ll work out because you’re here, and you’re the most steady, reliable and caring person I know. There’s not a doubt in my mind that you’re going to be a good at it.”

“I love you,” he said softly. “Thank you for being in this with me. I couldn’t do it without you.”

“We’re a team, Mr. Gilmore,” she teased lightly. Luke offered a smile at that.

“Go to sleep, Mrs. Danes.”

**XXXX**

Lorelai sat on the couch watching as Luke paced the floor angrily in front of her. He had just returned from his meeting with his lawyer, where he learned that his chances of winning partial custody of April were not as good as he had hoped. He felt her slipping through his fingers – this relationship he had worked so hard to build, that he had sacrificed so much for, was hanging in the balance, and he felt impotent to do anything about it.

“What can I do?” Lorelai asked. Luke shook his head.

“Nothing, apparently. I’m going to blow all this money going to court and I’m still gonna lose her,” he ground out. He stopped and sighed, hands on his hips, head hanging low. “This is why I didn’t want to do this. Why I put it off,” he reminded her. Lorelai nodded her understanding.

“Well, what did your lawyer say? Did he tell you what to do next?” she prompted. He took a deep breath and joined her on the couch, slumping down.

“I need to get a reference, a character reference. Someone to vouch for me,” he explained. Lorelai nodded her understanding.

“Okay, we’ll find someone to do that.”

“It needs to be soon,” he said quickly. “We’re going to court in two weeks.”

“Right, so we’ll get it done right away,” Lorelai countered. Luke looked at her with sad eyes.

“Who? Who do we know who can do this?” Lorelai shrugged.

“Maybe Liz? She worships you. I know she would write you a glowing reference.” Luke shook his head.

“Not Liz. She means well, but she’s not cut out for something like this. God knows, she would probably tell them about the time I pantsed her in the third grade.” Lorelai offered a small smile, acknowledging his attempt at a joke.

“Well then, I don’t know. Jess?” she offered. “He’s a great writer – published. I’m sure he would do it for you.”

“Great, the kid I couldn’t even get through high school is my best option,” he said in his typical self-deprecating way.

“Well, maybe I could write it,” she offered. Luke looked up at her, questioningly.

“You would do that?” he asked. She shifted to face him more directly and took his hand in hers.

“Luke, of course I would do that. I’m your wife.” Luke looked down at their hands and sighed.

“Yeah, that’s probably why it shouldn’t come from you. You’re kind of biased.” Lorelai frowned.

“I guess you’re right,” she allowed. A moment of tense silence filled the space before an idea popped into her head. “Hey, what about Rory?” she suggested. Luke met her eyes.

“Rory?”

“Yeah,” she said, sitting up a little straighter. “She’s a great writer, she knows you really well…”

“You think she would do it?” he asked.

“Of course she would,” Lorelai said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “She loves you, Luke. I know she would do anything to help you out.”

“You don’t think it’s too much to ask? It’s a lot of pressure, and she already has so much on her plate…”

“She would want to do this for you. I know she would.” Luke took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as if to steady himself.

“Ok, yeah, you’re right. I’ll ask her.” Lorelai smiled.

“And hey, with a reference from that girl, you can’t lose.” Luke smiled softly at that, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

“It’s worth a shot,” he agreed.

“Good,” she said, giving his hand another squeeze. “Why don’t you go call her now? I can order something for dinner and we’ll start going over the rest of your lawyers’ notes.”

“Can’t wait,” he droned, monotone. Lorelai gave him a nudge and he pulled himself off the couch to call Rory.

**XXXX**

The two weeks that followed were some of the longest and hardest of Luke’s life. He had been able to call April and talk to her a few times, but Anna still had a moratorium on in-person visits. April had offered to sneak over on more than one occasion, but Luke shut her down. He knew that he needed to be the adult here, no matter how much he wanted to see her. She had asked him a few times about the court case, but he refused to talk about it with her, not wanting to place her in the middle. When she pushed, he told her he was getting a reference from Rory, and that he was sure it would make all the difference, if only to assuage her concerns.

By the time his day in court came, he was nearly crawling out of his skin. Lorelai had taken the day off to accompany him, planning to show a united front for the judge. They both agreed that it would improve his chances if he showed that he was in a committed, loving marriage with someone who was as eager to be part of April’s life as he was.

The process in front of the judge was anything but easy. Luke and Lorelai both had to fight to keep their mouths shut while Anna’s lawyer argued that his presence in April’s life was no more valuable than that of her school bus driver, and hammered the notion that he had somehow chosen not to be part of her life for twelve years.

For his part, Luke’s lawyer battled back those comments dutifully, but even with his legal counsel taking the lead, Luke could feel April slipping away. From the way the judge looked at him, to the way Anna and her lawyer painted him, he felt like there was nothing he could do to salvage things.

Finally, after their arguments had been made and Luke had been shushed on numerous occasions for deigning to defend himself, the judge opened a folder.

“I’m now going to read some personal letters into the court record,” she said. She pulled one from the stack. “The first letter was written by Ms. Rory Gilmore on behalf of Luke Danes.”

Luke felt the knot in his stomach tighten. Lorelai took his hand under the table and gave him a reassuring squeeze as he heard the contents of the letter for the first time.

_“To whom it may concern,_

_In the nearly ten years that I have known Luke Danes I have come to know him as an honest and decent man. He’s also one of the most kind and caring individuals I have ever met._

_I am the daughter of a single mother who raised me by herself. We met Luke Danes when I was eleven years old. I was a precocious child with a love for books and movies, and a scholarly intensity that could easily have been intimidating – but not to Luke. Once he became my mother’s friend, and my friend, we never really felt alone._

_Luke and my mother have had their ups and downs over the years, but through it all his relationship with me has never changed. He’s always been there for me, no matter what. He was there to celebrate my birthdays, he was there cheering me on at my high school graduation, and he’ll be there when I graduate from Yale next year. I know this because I know Luke, and he has never let me down._

_I’ve never had a close relationship with my father, but with Luke in my life, I didn’t feel that I was missing out. Now that he and my mother are married, I am proud to call him my stepfather._

_With his own daughter Luke wasn’t given the opportunity to be there for her first twelve years, but he should be given that opportunity now. Once Luke Danes is in your life, he is in your life forever. I know from personal experience what an amazing gift that is, and not to allow him access to his daughter would be to seriously deprive her of all this man has to offer, and he offers so much._

_Thank you for your time._

_Sincerely,  
Rory Gilmore”_

Luke swallowed back the lump that had formed in his throat, hearing the words Rory – his stepdaughter – had so kindly written about him. He looked over at Lorelai and saw tears brimming in her eyes.

The judge continued. “The next letter was written by Miss April Nardini on behalf of Luke Danes.”

All eyes shot up at that. None of them, not Luke, Lorelai nor Anna had known that April had written a letter.

“I don’t know if that’s appropriate,” Anna’s lawyer cut in. The judge eyed her harshly.

“All of the letters will be entered into the court record, Ms. Holloway,” she said firmly. She turned to the court reporter. “Are you ready?” With a nod from the woman in the corner, she began to read the letter.

_“Dear Judge Caplan,_

_I am April Nardini, the daughter of Anna Nardini and Luke Danes. I met my father for the first time when I was 12 years old. I sought him out because I wanted to know him, to see who he was and where I came from._

_My mother has given me a good life. We are close, and we love each other unconditionally. But not knowing my father made me feel like I wasn’t whole, like I missing something really important. I knew I needed to know him, even if that meant risking him not wanting to know me._

_In the months since I’ve known my dad, he’s become one of the most important people in my life. He has shown his love and dedication in simple ways, like taking my calls every night, letting me talk his ear off in his diner, throwing me a birthday party, letting me serve as his best man in his wedding, and letting me choose the paint colour in my new bedroom at his house. He has introduced me to his family, and now I have a stepmother and a stepsister who love me and want to be part of my life._

_I love my mom and I never want to hurt her or make her feel like she hasn’t given me enough. But now that I know my father and now that I have this new family, I don’t want to lose them._

_I want my mom to know that I understand why she made her decisions, but I don’t agree with them. I need to know my dad and I need him to be part of my life. I hope she can forgive me for writing this letter, but I couldn’t let this go on without saying what I need to say._

_Please let me have my dad in my life. He will do a good job, I promise._

_Sincerely,  
April Nardini”_

The room was dead silent when the judge finished reading April’s letter. Anna’s eyes were trained on the table, with tears marking lines on her face. Lorelai and Luke were similarly afflicted, feeling the weight of this moment showering over them. Their hands were clasped tightly under the table, but they would only feel the ache later on.

“May I say something?” Anna asked after a moment. Her lawyer shot her a look, but she shrugged her off.

“Go ahead, Ms. Nardini,” the judge allowed.

“I’m not going to contest Mr. Danes’ request for partial custody,” she said. She met his eyes across the table. “I’m sorry, Luke. This was a mistake.”

Luke felt his chest tighten.

“Thank you, Anna,” he said quietly. She nodded her understanding and turned back to the judge.

“I’m sorry for wasting your time, Judge Caplan.”

“No problem at all,” the judge said, closing the folder. “If we’re all in agreement, then I will leave this to your lawyers to draw up the custody agreement for you both to sign and enforce.”

With that, she stood from the table and made her exit.

Luke and Lorelai shared a look, barely containing the tsunami of emotions raging through both of them.

They had done it. They were going to have their family – all of their family. No strings attached.


	9. Epilogue

**Chapter 9:** **Epilogue**

It was late-August, the middle of the night, and the heat in the house was sweltering. Lorelai opened her eyes with a bit of a huff, grumbling to herself that she wasn’t able to enjoy these precious moments of sleep. She looked over and found Luke’s side of the bed empty, and she could hear soft crying over the baby monitor. She tossed the top-sheet off of her and padded toward the stairs, taking them as quietly as she could as she made her way to the third floor.

“Shh, baby girl, it’s not so bad,” she heard Luke whisper from the room at the end of the hall. She tiptoed toward the sound and leaned against the door frame, taking in the sight of Luke cradling their daughter who was crying quietly in the night. They had brought her home from the hospital a week earlier in perfect health, the proud owner of ten fingers and ten toes, bright blue eyes, and the smallest tuft of dark brown hair atop her head.

The room was lit only by moonlight, and Luke stood facing the window, cradling the girl close to his body as he whispered words of love and devotion in her ear.

Lorelai just watched them. Luke must have felt her eyes on him, because he turned to face her after a moment.

“Hey,” he said softly. “Go back to bed, I got this.”

“Can’t sleep,” she said, padding into the room. She approached the pair and reached out to rub a gentle hand over Lydia’s forehead. The girl’s eyes followed her mother intently, and her crying settled down.

“I don’t know how you do that. I’ve been up here for half an hour,” Luke said, a little put out. Lorelai offered him a reassuring smile.

“She just knows where the milk comes from.” She gestured for Luke to hand the baby over, which he did ever-so-gently. She sat in the rocking chair in the corner and proceeded to feed the baby. Luke stood back and watched for a moment.

“You’re kind of amazing, you know that?” he asked. Lorelai laughed lightly at that.

“I just have the boobs, Doll. It’s nothing special.” He shook his head.

“It’s more than that. You take one look at her and she stops crying. With me, you’d think I was the boogeyman or something.”

“She’s just getting accustomed to our world. You two will find your rhythm soon.” He continued to frown. “Really, Luke. You will. You’re already doing so good.”

“If you say so.” He sighed and made his way over to her, kneeling down next to chair. He reached a hand up and pushed an errant hair out of Lorelai’s eyes, tucking it behind her ear.

Since bringing Lydia home, the pair hadn’t ventured out. They’d had sporadic visits from Rory, the Gilmores, Sookie, Lane, Liz and T.J., and even Anna and April had dropped by; but by and large they were content to be in their little bubble for a little while, at least until they got their bearings on the whole “new baby” thing.

Luke had been trying hard to bond with Lydia. He held her close and whispered in her ear and did all of the things he thought he was supposed to do, but she was proving to be a challenge for him. Not that he’d had much experience with babies in the past, but he had kind of hoped that his own kid would take to him without all the effort.

For her part, Lorelai fell back into being a mom of an infant like she had done it a million times, not just once 21 years before. Lydia only fell asleep in her mother’s arms, only stopped crying when Lorelai was nearby, and only ate when it was Lorelai feeding her. She had been pumping so Luke could feed Lydia from bottles, but the girl didn’t seem at all interested in the milk unless it came from the source.

Lorelai felt bad that Luke was having such a hard time with it all. She knew he was feeling insecure about his abilities as a father, and all she wanted was for him to be able to enjoy this experience with their daughter.

She knew it would happen soon enough. She just needed to keep reminding Luke that this was only temporary.

Despite his challenges with Lydia, Luke was still working hard to be as helpful as possible for Lorelai, who was recovering well from childbirth, but was still slow-moving, sore and tired. He cooked her three gourmet meals every day, kept her in coffee – half caf, a compromise, and he took on almost all of the diaper changes and as many late nights as Lorelai would allow.

Lorelai could tell the grind was getting to him, though. He was dead tired, and he wasn’t getting a lot of positive reinforcement from the kid, which was sometimes the only thing that made her feel better when she was interrupted from her sleep at 3 AM.

Lorelai noticed when Lydia’s suckling petered off and her breathing became steady. She was asleep again.

“Can you?” she asked, gesturing for Luke to take her back to her crib. He gingerly slipped his arms underneath the baby and swept her up, walking back to the crib.

Lorelai watched as he placed a delicate kiss on her head and breathed in that perfect baby smell, before resting her gently back in bed. She got up and joined him where he stood, looking down at their daughter with pure adoration on his features.

“Come on,” she urged. “Let’s go back to bed.” She wrapped her arm around his and tugged him toward the door. He stopped and took one last look in the room before allowing her to pull him toward the stairs.

She was right – they would find their groove eventually. For now, he would make do with the quiet moments like these; the ones where his wife held his daughter, and he got to watch the absolute magic of that relationship unfold before his eyes.

**XXXX**

“You ready to go?” Lorelai asked, double-checking the contents of the diaper bag.

“I still think you’re crazy for wanting to do this,” Luke grumbled.

“Come on, Luke, it’s been two weeks. It’s a miracle they’ve held off for this long.”

“They’re going to smother her. She’ll get crushed beneath the throngs.”

“At worst, she’ll get some lipstick on her cheeks.” Luke sighed and reached down, taking hold of the handle of the baby carrier and hoisting baby Lydia into the air.

“I want the record to show that I did not endorse this,” he said.

“Duly noted. Now let’s go. We can’t keep her adoring public waiting any longer,” Lorelai said, pushing him gently toward the door.

Lorelai and Luke had been holed up in their house with Lydia for almost two weeks, and the town had graciously honoured their requests for privacy while they got accustomed to their new life. But the time had come to venture out into the world and let their friends finally see the little girl they were all so excited to meet.

Luke had been firmly opposed to Lorelai’s idea of taking her to the diner, where the townspeople would most certainly be swarming as soon as word got out that the new family would be there. But like usual, he was worn down by Lorelai’s insistence.

It was the perfect place, according to her. They could control the flow of people, they had multiple routes of escape, and Luke could check in on the place that he had left entirely in Caesar’s capable hands ever since Lorelai went into labour. Not to mention, Lorelai was dying for one of Luke’s burgers. And chili fries. And a vat of his fully-caffeinated coffee.

The pair had barely made it out of the house when they heard Babette calling from next door.

“Oh my god, look at that precious thing,” the older woman shrieked. “Morrie! Get out here and see the baby!”

She began closing the distance at a pace neither Luke nor Lorelai were comfortable with, holding her boobs down as she ran.

“Slow down Babette,” Luke warned.

“I gotta see the baby, Sugah. You have no idea how hard it’s been stayin’ over there knowin’ she was right next door!” She arrived slightly out of breath, and leaned in close to see Lydia sound asleep in her carrier. “Oh what a doll. She looks just like little Rory, with that little cherub face and those cheeks! Oh my god, those cheeks. I wanna throw them on the grill and have ‘em for dinner.”

“Well, why don’t we leave the cheeks attached and that way we can all enjoy them,” Lorelai joked. Babette didn’t even look up from the girl. Morrie finally stepped out and made his way to the group gathered on the lawn.

“Look at this cool cat,” he greeted. He offered his congratulations to Luke and Lorelai, which they graciously accepted as Babette continued to coo over the baby.

“So where are you takin’ her?” Babette asked after a moment.

“We thought we’d go to the diner, give people a chance to see the goods,” Lorelai answered.

“Aw, that’s a good idea. All anyone’s been talkin’ about these last two weeks is meetin’ this little darlin’,” Babette said.

“We should probably get over there,” Luke interjected, seeing his opportunity to escape the clutches of their overbearing but well-meaning neighbour.

“Oh sure. You two will let me know when I can come over and see this little one again though, right?”

“Yes, for sure,” Lorelai assured the other women. “Maybe later this week.”

“Sounds good, Sugah. Good luck in town. You’re gonna need it,” she warned with a laugh.

“Don’t I know it,” Luke sighed under his breath. He and Lorelai said their goodbyes and headed out toward the town centre.

When they arrived at the diner, it was reasonably quiet. It was shortly after 10 and smack-dab in between the breakfast and lunch rushes. Luke was relieved to see only a few townspeople at the tables as he swept around the counter and placed Lydia in her carrier on top of it. He checked in with Caesar while Lorelai went about disengaging the baby from her carrier. She was still sound asleep, but he knew it wouldn’t last long.

Kirk was the first person to make an appearance. He had been in the diner when they entered.

Patty came next, rushing in close behind them when she saw them crossing the square.

Taylor was quick to follow, having spied the bundle arriving through the window between the diner and his ice cream shoppe.

Gypsy must have gotten word that they were out and about, because she arrived soon after, along with Andrew, Bootsie and Lulu.

As the crowd continued to amass, Luke busied himself with work behind the counter, hoping to avoid their questions and generally having to _interact_ with the crazies. Besides, Lorelai seemed to have everything well in hand. Lydia had woken up, and was taking quite well to the insanity as she was passed around, her cheeks kissed, her head sniffed, and all manner of inanities spoken in her ear.

After a while, Luke came out of the kitchen with Lorelai’s requested burger and chili fries.

“You’re the perfect man,” she said, gratefully accepting the plate. She began to chow down while the baby continued to get passed around the room.

“I should have snuck some lettuce onto it,” he came back.

“I would know. You know I would know,” she said, taking a massive bite and humming in delight as she chewed. Luke looked around the diner, nervously. “What?” she asked around her mouthful.

“Is this okay?” he asked in a hushed tone. “Do any of these people even know _how_ to hold a baby? She not going to come back to us with a dent, is she?”

“She’s not a car, Luke,” Lorelai teased. She took a look over her shoulder. Lydia was cuddled in Patty’s arms, and she seemed to be perfectly comfortable there. She turned back to Luke. “She’s fine.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he said, still feeling uneasy. Lorelai grinned up at him, knowingly.

“You know, when Rory was a baby I didn’t let anyone else hold her for the first three months,” she told him.

“I let people hold her,” he grumbled. Lorelai smiled.

“It’s normal to be overprotective of your first baby,” she said. He frowned and looked around, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Just then, Lydia let out a small cry. Lorelai made a move to get her, but Luke stopped her.

“No, you go ahead and eat. I’ll take care of it,” he said. He was a little nervous that everyone would see him fail to soothe his daughter. Falling flat in front of a crowd was not his idea of a good time, but he still couldn’t leave her out there to fend for herself.

In a quick move, he rounded the counter and made his way to where Patty was seated with the child.

“Here, let me take her,” Luke said, reaching out for the baby. Patty relinquished her easily and watched as Luke took the girl who was getting more and more agitated by the second. He wrapped her up in his arms and rocked her gently.

Lydia’s eyes focused on Luke and she began to quickly settle. He felt a smile tugging on his lips as he locked eyes with his daughter. It was the first time he had been her source of calm.

“Look at that, Luke. You’re a natural,” Patty complimented him. “Who’da thought?”

Luke laughed lightly, but didn’t look up from his daughter’s angelic face.

“She probably just needed a familiar face,” he shrugged her off.

“She needed her daddy,” the older woman corrected him, knowingly. She stood up and moved a little closer, peering down at the girl who seemed to view Luke with total adoration. “You two make quite a pair.”

“They sure do,” Lorelai agreed, coming to join them, her burger abandoned at the counter. Luke looked up at her.

“You want to take her?” he offered.

“Nah, you got it,” she said. She leaned down and gave the baby a kiss on the forehead. “Patty’s right. She just needs her daddy.”

**XXXX**

A few days later, Luke and Lorelai agreed it was time for April to come and stay for the first time since bringing Lydia home. They needed to get their whole family into a routine, and despite a few visits from the girl, Luke was beginning to miss his regular face time with his daughter.

When he went out to pick April up from school, Lorelai decided to call Rory to invite her over for dinner. It would be the first time their full family of five would sit down for a meal together. It felt like a momentous occasion.

Luke was busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen when Rory arrived that evening. She poked her head in to greet him before heading to the living room where Lorelai and April were entertaining a wide-eyed Lydia in her bouncer.

“Hey Mom, hey April,” Rory greeted as she came into the room. She quickly slid down in next to them on the floor in front of the baby. “Hello Lydia,” she greeted in a high-pitched voice. “Oh you’re just so cute!”

“We’re having a debate about whether she’s more Gilmore or Danes. Care to weigh in?” Lorelai asked.

“Oh, she’s all Gilmore,” Rory said firmly, before taking a closer look. “But, no, you know, I can see the Danes. She’s got Luke’s eyes.”

“You think?” Lorelai asked. “I thought those were the patented Gilmore blues.”

“Well, it’s subtle, but you know the Gilmore blues are really bright. Hers are more of a stormy blue, like Luke’s.” Lorelai eyed the girl closer.

“Huh, you’re right,” she allowed. “But that hair. That’s Gilmore hair.”

“Luke has dark hair too, you know,” Rory corrected her. Lorelai frowned.

“The lips?”

“No way, those are Dad’s lips,” April interjected. Lorelai began to pout.

“Well if she has Luke’s eyes, lips and hair, then she’s not really a Gilmore girl at all.”

“But she’s got the nose,” Rory assuaged. “That nose is Gilmore all day long.”

“Now you’re just humouring me,” Lorelai sulked.

“Oh come on, is it so bad if she looks like her dad?” Rory asked.

“No, I’m sure Luke would make a very handsome woman,” Lorelai joked.

“You know what I mean,” Rory said. Lorelai allowed this.

“Yeah, yeah. She’s a Danes girl. She’s gonna sleep in the woods and gut fish and throw balls and drink herbal tea instead of coffee.”

“Just because she looks like him doesn’t mean she’s going to adopt his entire philosophy on life,” Rory told her mother.

“I guess,” Lorelai said. Just then, the baby squawked and reclaimed the attention of her three admirers.

“I think she’s pretty,” April said. Lorelai smiled.

“Very pretty,” she agreed.

“She’s a Gilmore Danes. How could she be anything else?” Rory asked.

Just then, Luke entered the room.

“Would you three stop hovering over the baby? She can’t get any air under there,” he grumbled.

“Party pooper,” Lorelai tossed over her shoulder at him.

“Yeah, sorry to break this shindig up, but dinner is ready,” he said with no hint of remorse.

“Oh great, I’m starving!” Lorelai exclaimed.

“What else is new?” Luke teased. The girls picked themselves up off the floor and Lorelai pulled Lydia from her bouncer while Luke came in to drag the piece of furniture into the kitchen for the baby to lounge in while the four of them at their meal.

Luke had done up a lasagna with garlic bread and cheesecake for dessert. It was a heavy meal, but he didn’t mind splurging now and again. He just wanted his girls to enjoy their first meal together as a family.

He sat at the head of the table with Lydia to his left and Lorelai next to her. Rory sat across from him, and April to his right. As they all dug into their dinners, Luke sat back for a moment and just watched the scene unfold.

A year ago, he couldn’t have imagined this moment. A year ago, Lorelai and Rory weren’t speaking, the wedding didn’t have a date, April was unknown to him, and Lydia was barely a flicker in her mother’s eye.

It was hard to believe that so much could change so quickly. It was even harder to believe that he was _okay_ with things changing so quickly. Luke Stick-In-The-Mud Danes had seen his whole world turned upside down, and it had all turned out okay.

He shook his head lightly, as if to refocus on the moment at hand. His family was talking, sharing stories about their lives, and he didn’t want to miss anything else.

After dinner, the family retreated back to the living room. Luke and Lorelai sat on the stairs, watching their daughters all together on the couch, Lydia tucked safely in Rory’s arms and April cuddling in close, talking their ears off with her usual enthusiasm.

“We make some pretty great kids, you and me,” Lorelai whispered to him.

“Can’t argue with that,” he agreed. She looked up at him and met his gaze.

“I think I’m really going to like our middle.” He grinned.

“Only took us ten years to get here.”

“How about another 60 or so?” she suggested. He smiled and placed a small kiss to her forehead before turning back to watch their girls.

“You bet.”

**End**

* * *

**A/N:** That’s it! I hope you enjoyed this reimagining of season six. Please let me know in the comments!


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